Jenna Ortega of 'Klara and the Sun' slams artificial intelligence
The future of friendship is here, but it looks a little artificial.
“Klara and the Sun,” which opens in theaters Friday, is based on the highly praised 2021 novel by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro. Jenna Ortega plays Klara, a cheerful, solar-powered Artificial Friend who wants to be someone's companion. She finds a friend in Josie (Mia Tharia), a teenager who has a long-term illness. The two become very close, even though Josie's mother, Chrissie (Amy Adams), strongly disapproves.
But viewers should not expect to see Ortega, 24, looking serious and unhappy like she does in her dark role in Netflix's “Wednesday.”
“People are not used to seeing me show so much emotion. Over the years, I've also become a little more introverted,” she said. “The movie felt very futuristic and looked different from anything I'd ever done before. It's rare to get a chance to show so much emotion and play such a big role on screen.”
Directed by Taika Waititi, known for “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Jojo Rabbit,” the film takes place in a dark future where artificial intelligence is meant to help people feel less lonely. This subject feels especially relevant today.
A 2025 study by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about one in four people under 30 said they used AI for companionship. A Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teenagers that same year found that 16% used chatbots for casual conversations, while 12% turned to them for emotional support or advice.
Even though the film deals with AI, Waititi and Ortega said it was not made to comment on artificial intelligence.
“We filmed it about three years ago,” Waititi said. “AI has taken off since then.”
Ortega said that ChatGPT was not really part of the conversation when the team was making the film. She also said she would like audiences to think of the movie in the same way they think of the 1984 science-fiction action film “The Terminator.”
Still, the two spoke about how AI is becoming more common in Hollywood. A Los Angeles Times survey of job listings at major movie studios over the summer found that more than one in 10 jobs was likely related to AI. These jobs involved either creating AI tools or protecting creative work from AI being used without permission.
“I don't think AI belongs in filmmaking, and it can never replace humans. I got into filmmaking and the arts because I wanted to work with people. I don't want to sit at home just pushing buttons,” said Waititi. He is also set to direct “Barn 8,” a film based on the satirical novel by Deb Olin Unferth. “The truth is that AI will be used, probably more and more. I don't know what the best way to use it is, but it can't replace people.”
Some companies have kept their AI plans quiet, but some famous people have spoken in favor of using it. “Star Wars” creator George Lucas called AI the “future” this summer. Martin Scorsese, the director of “Goodfellas,” has also openly supported the use of generative AI.
Ortega, who stars in “Klara and the Sun,” believes we are going through a strange period of change as AI becomes part of everyday life. But the actor, who also appeared in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” doubts that this change can last.
“It's like how looking at our phones makes everyone feel sick,” Ortega said. She will also appear alongside Natalie Portman in the upcoming comedy “The Gallerist,” which is due out in December. “Artificial intelligence isn't creative. It copies things. Nothing about it is real or genuine.”
Like Klara, her character, Ortega chooses to believe in people and in the wonderful, unexpected things they can do.
“I think there will be a wonderful movement that grows quietly beneath the surface and reminds people why things should come directly from the people who create them,” Ortega said.