All posts tagged: Tilly

Sezzle dismisses auditor Baker Tilly, appoints PwC for 2026

Sezzle dismisses auditor Baker Tilly, appoints PwC for 2026

Published by Sam Flores

March 20 : Sezzle has dismissed its independent auditor Baker Tilly and instead appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for 2026, the buy now, pay later company said in a filing on Monday. The company disclosed a material weakness in controls over the classification of cash flows related to notes receivable for fiscal 2024 and 2025. The filing said Baker Tilly’s audit opinions for the years were unqualified and did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer. However, the auditor said Sezzle’s internal control over financial reporting was ineffective as of December 31, 2025 due to material weakness. Sezzle said it had no disagreements with Baker Tilly during the two most recent fiscal years and the subsequent interim period. The dismissal was approved by the audit committee, while the new appointment is subject to completiton of standard client procedures. Source link

AI ‘actor’ Tilly Norwood put out the worst song I’ve ever heard

AI ‘actor’ Tilly Norwood put out the worst song I’ve ever heard

Published by skeptic

When the production company Particle6 debuted its AI-generated “actor” Tilly Norwood last fall, the move was not warmly welcomed by Hollywood. “Good Lord, we’re screwed,” Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt said in an interview with the industry publication Variety. “Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop.” If only Particle6 followed Blunt’s advice. Instead, the company has put out a music video for its AI character, featuring a song called “Take the Lead.” This is not clickbait. Upon listening to it, I actually think it is the worst song I have ever heard. I was prepared for Norwood’s musical debut to sound something like “How Was I Supposed to Know?”, the AI-generated song attributed to the digital persona Xania Monet, which turned heads when it made it onto the Billboard R&B charts. Xania Monet’s AI-generated music isn’t my cup of tea, even if its lyrics are supposedly written by a real person — I personally prefer music that could exist without an AI music generator like Suno. But Norwood’s song has unlocked a new level …

Finally some good news for humans: Tilly Norwood’s AI music video is abysmal slop

Finally some good news for humans: Tilly Norwood’s AI music video is abysmal slop

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter It’s been a rough few years for anyone working in Hollywood. Between major film and television productions leaving California, job losses associated with troubling mergers and Los Angeles literally and repeatedly catching fire, good news has been hard to come by. Hope, however, has now arrived from an unexpected source: “AI actor” Tilly Norwood has released a music video for a crude approximation of a Disney ballad called “Take The Lead,” and it’s so awful it may do more to remind people of the power and importance of human-made art than any protest or petition ever could. This presumably was not the intention of Norwood, or rather her creator Eline van der Velden, CEO of AI-focused production company Particle 6 and the “AI talent studio” Xicoia. The brunette, hazel-eyed digital starlet caused a furor when first unveiled last year. The fact …

The AI-Generated Tilly Norwood Just Dropped the Worst Music Video We’ve Ever Seen

The AI-Generated Tilly Norwood Just Dropped the Worst Music Video We’ve Ever Seen

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Late last year, video production company Particle6 triggered near-universal backlash when it unveiled its so-called “AI actress” dubbed “Tilly Norwood.” The timing of the announcement couldn’t have been worse, as some of the biggest names in Hollywood had been publicly and strongly denouncing the use of AI in filmmaking. The innocent-faced avatar, which The Verge previously lambasted as a “gen AI psyop,” perfectly played into the fears of those worried about being replaced by the tech, particularly among voice actors and on-screen performers. Now, in yet another astonishing failure to read the room, Particle6 teamed up with London-based AI talent studio Xicoia Studios for a debut single and accompanying video for Norwood, per The Hollywood Reporter. You might wonder if the music video redeemed the project; instead, it’s one of the dingiest and depressing things we’ve ever seen. Tilly Norwood | Take The Lead (Official Music Video) The single, titled “Take the Lead,” was — we’re not making …

AI Actor Tilly Norwood Debuts Song, Music Video ‘Take the Lead’

AI Actor Tilly Norwood Debuts Song, Music Video ‘Take the Lead’

Published by Daniella Wilson

AI “actor” Tilly Norwood has released a debut single and accompanying music video. From the London-based Xicoia Studios, the release comes ahead of Norwood’s official AI acting debut later this year and offers the first glimpse into the evolving “Tilly-verse,” a new entertainment world where AI characters “live, interact and work.” “Take the Lead” is inspired by a recently published essay written by Eline van der Velden, Norwood’s creator and CEO of production company Particle6 and its AI talent studio Xicoia. The lyrics, she explains, reflect on last year’s extensive backlash across Hollywood following the news that agents were looking to sign Norwood. The music video, released on Tuesday, shows an AI Norwood singing atop a London rooftop, swinging from a disco ball, in the bath, and flying through the clouds on a blow-up flamingo, among other activities. A note at the top of the video reads: “The following production was made by 18 real humans — from production designers to costume designers to prompters, editors, and an actor. No flamingos were harmed in the process.” …

Inside Spirit Awards Brunch as Natasha Rothwell Says ‘F*** Tilly Norwood’

Inside Spirit Awards Brunch as Natasha Rothwell Says ‘F*** Tilly Norwood’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Leave it to the indie film crowd to add some spice to the weekend. During an awards season in which many boldfaced names have been playing it safe when it comes to weighing in on hot button cultural and political issues — not counting Guillermo del Toro who shouted “fuck AI” at New York’s Gotham Awards — the handful of boldfaced names who made it to the podium at Saturday’s Spirit Awards brunch did not shy away from sharing their passionate takes. But first, official business: Film Independent brought its typically beachside act to the London West Hollywood to host Spirit Award nominees for an airy rooftop brunch. (For years, Santa Monica hosted the brunch at Casa Del Mar and the Spirit Awards in a tent on the beach.) Aside from serving up avocado toast, tacos and Lavazza espresso martinis, the org doled out $75,000 in grants to emerging artists. Hannah Einbinder and Natasha Rothwell teamed to announce the winners in front of a starry crowd that included Ethan Hawke, Zoey Deutch, Joel Edgerton, Dylan O’Brien, …