{"id":544914,"date":"2026-03-18T17:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/544914\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T17:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:05:08","slug":"val-kilmer-in-as-deep-as-the-grave-his-performance-was-ai-generated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/544914\/","title":{"rendered":"Val Kilmer in ‘As Deep As the Grave, His Performance was AI Generated"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFive years prior to his death in 2025<\/a>, Val Kilmer<\/a> was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, in \u201cAs Deep as the Grave<\/a>.\u201d But Kilmer, who was battling throat cancer, was too sick to ever make it to set.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe was the actor I wanted to play this role,\u201d says the film\u2019s writer and director Coerte Voorhees. \u201cIt was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest. I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEven though he didn\u2019t shoot a single scene, Voorhees has been able to realize his vision of having Kilmer in the ensemble by using state-of-the-art generative AI. And he\u2019s done it with the cooperation of the late actor\u2019s estate and his daughter Mercedes (Voorhees says Kilmer\u2019s son Jack is also supportive).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHis family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,\u201d says Coerte Voorhees. \u201cHe really thought it was important story that he wanted his name on. It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, okay let\u2019s do this. Despite the fact some people might call it controversial, this is what Val wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs Deep as the Grave,\u201d which was previously titled \u201cCanyon of the Dead,\u201d is the true story of Southwestern archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, chronicling their excavations in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona in their effort to trace the history of the Navajo people. Abigail Lawrie (\u201cTin Star\u201d) stars opposite Tom Felton (\u201cHarry Potter\u201d), with a cast that includes Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin. Kilmer, or the AI generated version of the actor, will appear in \u201ca significant part\u201d of the finished film. The project uses both younger images of Kilmer, many of them provided by his family, and footage from his final years to show his character in various stages of his life. The audio also utilizes Kilmer\u2019s voice, which, in his later life was damaged by a tracheal procedure.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe character in the film also suffers from tuberculosis,\u201d says John Voorhees, the film\u2019s producer and Coerte\u2019s brother. \u201cAgain, this historical character mirrored Val\u2019s actual condition when he was suffering from throat cancer. And so when it comes to the voice this is a really unique opportunity for the character to reflect the condition that the actor was actually suffering from, thus creating a kind of a bridge.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs Deep as the Grave\u201d is an indie production, one that had to endure shutdowns from the COVID pandemic that stretched production to six years. At one point, the filmmakers had cut scenes involving Father Fintan for budget reasons and time constraints, but when they looked at the footage, they realized they needed to put them back in to round out the narrative. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe really figured out that this is a major missing element,\u201d says Coerte Voorhees. \u201cNormally we would just recast an actor. I\u2019m all about working with our actors, and we have brilliant performances all throughout this movie. But we can\u2019t roll camera again. We don\u2019t have the budget. We\u2019re not a big studio film. So we had to think of innovative ways to do it. And we realized the technology is there for us. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s still a heated debate surrounding AI, with some parts of the creative community concerned that the technology will lead to job losses and worries that actors\u2019 likenesses will be used without their consent. The brothers know that their decision may draw criticism, but they hope that \u201cAs Deep as the Grave\u201d will show how AI can be used ethically. They also note that the production relied on SAG guidelines and compensated Kilmer\u2019s estate for his appearance. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Mercedes Kilmer said she supported the film, and noted that her father was \u201ca deeply spiritual man\u201d who resonated with a \u201cstory of discovery and enlightenment\u201d set in the American Southwest where he made his home in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,\u201d Mercedes Kilmer said. \u201cThis spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring his lifetime, Kilmer, whose films include \u201cThe Doors\u201d and \u201cBatman Forever,\u201d partnered with Sonantic to create an AI-powered speaking voice when he reprised his role as Tom \u201cIceman\u201d Kazansky in 2022\u2019s \u201cTop Gun: Maverick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the time, Kilmer said he was \u201cgrateful\u201d to the technology company. \u201cAs human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the side effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me,\u201d he added. \u201cThe chance to narrate my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAbove is a first look image of the generative AI version of Kilmer from the film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five years prior to his death in 2025, Val Kilmer was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[212493,49,48,361,75,163075],"class_list":{"0":"post-544914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-as-deep-as-the-grave","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-celebrities","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-val-kilmer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}