Haiku: Trick or Treat - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2025

We are all “trick or treat”

We are the expected scare

On Halloween night!

Haiku: Happy Showing Their Teeth - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2025

If you smile

Life smiles back

We are happy showing our teeth!

Doris Day - ©Theda Bara

The name I present in this post is that of American actress and singer Doris Day. Her dreams of pursuing a career as a dancer were dashed when a car accident on October 13, 1937, severely damaged her legs. She spent most of her adolescence in a wheelchair, and during this time, she began singing on the radio. Her film fame came with British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), having been directed by him in the mystery thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much ” (1956). She played the central role of “Josephine Conway McKenna” opposite James Stewart (1908-1997), who played “Dr. Benjamin McKenna”, and the actress sang the Oscar-winning song “Whatever Will Be, Will Be” in the film.

Doris turned down the role of “Maria” in “The Sound of Music” (1965), explaining: “I’m too American to play an Austrian nun”.

Doris Day never won an Oscar. Her major awards were: a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 2008; four Golden Globes: three Henrietta Awards in 1958, 1960, and 1963; and a Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1989.

The actress has two stars on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard: 6278, in the Music category, and 6735, in the Motion Picture category.

Born Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, she died on May 13, 2019, in Carmel Valley Village, California, United States, at the age of 97.

Her mother, Alma Sophia Kappelhoff (1895-1976), named her Doris in honor of her favorite silent film star, Doris Margaret Kenyon (1897-1979). Coincidentally, it was in the mid-1970s that Day wrote her autobiography, “Doris Day: Her Own Story” (1975), in collaboration with biographer Aaron Edward Hotchner (1917-2020). Kenyon was her neighbor on Crescent Drive in Beverly Hills, California, United States.

Doris Day underwent a hysterectomy during the filming of “Julie” (1956), where she played the lead character “Julie Benton”. After being diagnosed with an orange-sized tumor growing in her intestine, she underwent treatment and completed filming.

Doris Day was married four times, three of which ended in divorce. Her first marriage was to American trombonist and musician Albert Paul Jorden (1917–1967), from 1941 to 1943. The couple had one son, American musician and record producer Terrence “Terry” Melcher (1942–2004); her second marriage was to American saxophonist and composer George William Weidler (1926–1989), from 1946 to 1949; her third marriage was to American film and music executive Martin Melcher (1915–1968), from 1951 to 1968, which left her a widow; her fourth and final marriage was to restaurant entrepreneur Barry Comden (1935–2009), from 1976 to 1982.

Haiku: Between Dogs and Cats - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2025

When they’re happy, dogs and cats wag their tails

They are loving and peaceful beings

And human intelligence labels these gentle and kind creatures as irrational!

Tilly Norwood - ©Theda Bara

The name I present in this post is that of the virtual actress Tilly Norwood, created by artificial intelligence, a product of Xicoia, a company that calls itself the world’s first artificial intelligence talent studio. Tilly sparked a wave of protests in Hollywood, the center of the film industry. And, as a professional film analyst, I cannot comment favorably on this type of creation.

Ever since Dutch producer and comedian Eline Van der Velden (1986-) launched the future career of the digital character, Tilly has been the talk of Hollywood. But not in a positive way. The news generated criticism from associations, actors, and filmmakers, who argue that artificial intelligence should not occupy a prominent place in the profession.

Artificial intelligence is already used as a tool in film production, but its implementation is the subject of intense debate, particularly during a prolonged strike by the union representing media members in the United States, which ended in late 2023 with safeguards to protect the use of images and performances of AI actors. There was also a year-long strike by video game producers, based on artistic protections against AI, resulting in the approval of a new contract requiring employers to obtain written permission to create a digital replica. Even so, the issue remains shrouded in controversy.

In a statement released in late September 2025, the Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) declared: “Creativity is, and must remain, human-centered.”

Tilly Norwood is not an actress, nor an avatar, nor even a character. She was generated by a computer program trained on the work of countless professional artists. In other words, her creation does not require a fee or signing million-dollar contracts with a talent agency, but many artists will remain anonymous, receiving only a small sum of money to give movement and voice to the AI.

In my opinion, no emotion emanates from this young woman created by the AI; she does not even possess breathtaking beauty; she simply resembles a teenager with an ordinary face.

Particle6 Studios introduced Tilly Norwood on the last weekend of September 2025, during the Zurich Summit, a side event of the Zurich Film Festival. At the time, representatives of the virtual actress’s creators said that talent agencies were keeping an eye on Norwood and expected to soon announce her signing with a major Los Angeles studio.

“For those who expressed outrage at the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a human surrogate, but a creative work, a work of art. Like many art forms before her, she sparks debate, and that in itself demonstrates the power of creativity. Creating Tilly was, for me, an act of imagination and skill, just like creating a character, writing a role, or shaping a performance. Bringing a character like this to life requires time, skill, and iteration.” - Van der Velden said in a talk that caused no commotion in the large audience, which listened without applause at the end of his euphoric words about his AI creature.

Virtual actress Tilly Norwood has her own Instagram account. Posts include photos of the virtual actress drinking coffee, shopping for clothes, and preparing for projects. As of Wednesday (October 1, 2025), the account had already amassed over 33,000 followers. “I had a lot of fun filming some screen tests recently. Every day feels like one step closer to the big screen.” - “she” says in one post.

And what do you think of this new model for Hollywood actors?