Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Val Kilmer Rises from the Deep... Fake

Val Kilmer, who passed away after battling throat cancer one year ago, was cast in a film as a Catholic priest, Father Fintan an Indigenous American spiritualist. However, Val was unable to shoot his role due to his illness. Due in large part to Kilmer’s estate and his daughter Mercedes, it was revealed at CinemaCon that Val's Ai image would grace the film “As Deep as the Grave”. 

 


Here’s an exclusive first look at “As Deep as the Grave”:
 
CinemaCon ended a week ago, but the hoopla coming outta Hollywood is this new generative Ai process was used to create his performance. Kilmer's actual footage depicts him at various ages; a poltergeist figure and appears again as a stylized young 30-ish clergy member. Click 'PLAY' to view Kilmer telling a child while kneeling down to look squarely in her eyes - "Don't fear the dead... and don't fear me"


As per Brent Lang at Variety, Coerte Voor-hees revealed at CinemaCon that Kilmer’s role is large and his character will appear in over an hour of the movie.“As Deep as the Grave” filmmakers insist that they only used the technology out of necessity and a deep desire to include Kilmer in their project. They also note the production relied on SAG rules and paid Kilmer’s estate for his appearance. Val's family gave archival material the production used to create the performance.

We did a comprehensive overview of Ai advances throughout Mr. Kilmer's fight with his illness. We've had it as the topic of our BLOG numerous times during the past years and usually relating to Ai's usage for Val's ability to communicate during his throat cancer struggles and while continuing to act before his death. We had been covering early advancements in voice replication as far back as 2021 when the industry was alarmed at the Ai replication of Anthony Bourdain's after death voice replication in the doc called: "Roadrunner". The similarities between them both are stunning. Could this be a foreshadowing template for the future? 
 
 
Here's the skinny with our most recent communique from Stefan Nadelman (La La Land's resident visual artist and master animator). Those familiar with Stefan's animation work from his introductory film Terminal Bar, know him as the Go-to-Guy for conceptualization in the Movie & Doc world.
 
He says: "I'm close to finishing some work for an upcoming doc about Bruce Dern which will premiere at Cannes in May. 
Besides that, trying to finish a 3-parter about an apocalyptic sex cult from the 80's & 90's comprised of super models.
 
Those two will be hitting the screens this summer I would imagine...and then, it's back to work on a Andre Agassi and a Rob Lowe doc". 
 
And staying in step with today's' Late Nite crowd is a 3rd doc Stefan's doing about Bob Odenkirk and David Cross hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. 
 
That's them on Mach Picchu and where they appeared at various times separately on Jimmy Kimmel Live. 
Bob Odenkirk was featured on a FB Reelz of the show last Friday doing his "Bucket List" routine while plugging their doc. 
 
David Cross appeared on Kimmel Live (3) weeks beforehand. Dave talked about his new comedy special “The End of the Beginning of the End,” and of course, going on a multi-day hike on Machu Picchu with Bob Odenkirk.

 
 
Machu Picchu aside, here's wishing everyone a Happy Earth Day compliments of the Almanac. 
Earth Day 2026 is Wednesday, April 22, marking the 56th anniversary of the annual event, which began on April 22, 1970, to promote environmental protection. It is recognized globally as a time to address issues like pollution and climate change through action, such as planting trees, cleaning up neighborhoods, and reducing plastic waste.    

 
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