TLDR: Italian producer Andrea Iervolino has announced ‘The Sweet Idleness,’ a film reportedly directed by an AI agent named FellinAI, with a trailer released recently. This development comes amidst significant controversy surrounding AI actor Tilly Norwood and broader industry concerns about artificial intelligence’s role in filmmaking, particularly from unions like SAG-AFTRA and the DGA.
Italian producer Andrea Iervolino, known for films such as ‘Ferrari,’ has unveiled the trailer for ‘The Sweet Idleness,’ a feature film he claims is the first to be directed entirely by an artificial intelligence agent. The AI director, dubbed ‘FellinAI’ (a nod to legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini), is presented not merely as a tool but as a virtual auteur, challenging traditional notions of authorship in cinema. The film is ‘conceived to celebrate the poetic and dreamlike language of great European cinema.’
‘The Sweet Idleness’ is set in a future society, specifically the year 2135, where automation has largely replaced human labor. The narrative envisions a world where only one percent of humanity continues to work, transforming their jobs into symbolic rituals, while the vast majority of the population enjoys lives of freedom and leisure provided by machines. The synopsis describes a surreal backdrop of ‘cathedral-factories, mechanical clowns, and surreal processions,’ where the ‘last workers’ become ‘the final masks of a humanity that resists the insolence of labor.’
This announcement from Iervolino, who is also reportedly involved in financial litigation, arrives at a time of intense debate within Hollywood regarding the increasing presence of AI in storytelling. The controversy has been particularly fueled by the emergence of AI actor Tilly Norwood, who has sparked widespread criticism from the acting community. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors, has vehemently condemned the concept of AI actors, with its president Sean Astin reportedly stating that Tilly Norwood ‘is not an actor… It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion.’ Justine Bateman, a former SAG AI Advisor, also highlighted weaknesses in SAG-AFTRA’s 2023 AI protections, noting that studios only need to ‘notify SAG’ to use AI-generated actors.
Iervolino emphasizes that this new production approach, which involves an AI agent as director and digital actors created from real people, is ‘not intended to replace traditional cinema. Rather, it is an alternative method of creation.’ He describes his role in the project as ‘Human-on-the-Loop,’ acting as a human supervisor and producer who guides, monitors, and ensures the creative and production consistency of the AI process. Andrea Biglione, an Italian film director, serves as the ‘Human-in-the-Loop,’ bridging algorithmic intuition with human artistic sensibility.
The cast for ‘The Sweet Idleness’ is provided by Actor+, an in-house agency of The Andrea Iervolino Company. This agency works with real people who lend their faces, physicality, and personality to create new digital actors and characters. The company posits that ‘These digital actors, born from the union of human presence and generative technology, will not exist only on screen: they will continue to live beyond the film, through social media, opinions, interactions, and personal content.’
The Director’s Guild of America (DGA) has also expressed its stance on AI, with National Executive Director Russ Hollander stating in January 2025 that ‘Our members want to make sure AI is not used to cut jobs or to save money, but that it is used as a creative tool.’ The DGA’s 2023 agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) explicitly states that ‘generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members.’ This agreement is set to expire in 2026, indicating that AI’s role will be a central point in future negotiations, with new DGA President Christopher Nolan likely involved.
Also Read:
- Netflix Accelerates Production with Generative AI for Original Series Scenes
- Yorgos Lanthimos Playfully Suggests AI Avatar for Film Promotional Duties Amidst Festival Fatigue
The teaser trailer for ‘The Sweet Idleness’ indicates a premiere in February 2026. This film, along with the ongoing debate around AI actors like Tilly Norwood, is expected to be a significant topic in upcoming industry negotiations between major guilds and producers.
