You know it’s going to be a super fun and awesome day when you read the headline “Gal Gadot Defends Her Bitcoin Movie After AI Controversy,” but little did I know that wasn’t even the most embarrassing tidbit of press I would read about Gadot today (but more on the AI bitcoin movie later…) because a second soundbite is going viral, in which the actress and former IDF soldier discovers in real time on the Dax Shepard podcast that she is not on the mailing list for Tom Cruise’s legendary holiday coconut cake.
In case you are not on the list either, Cruise is known for sending a coconut cake to all his past collaborators every holiday season. The tradition goes back years, but despite working with Cruise on the 2010 film Knight and Day, and being in the industry for nearly two decades, Gadot had never heard of such a cake. The subject comes up in a not-awkward-at-all exchange after discussing how Gadot channeled Cruise for her upcoming action flick, The Runner (not to be confused with the upcoming action flick Runner, which also comes out this month). Please enjoy my dramatic rendition of the exchange:
After Gadot mentions Cruise, Dax asks, “Is he the one that does the cake?”—as in, the legendary holiday coconut cake.
“Yes,” his co-host Monica Padman says. “Have you received the cake?” she asks Gal.
Gal looks confused.
“Okay, maybe we shouldn’t have brought that up,” Dax says. “Never mind, there’s no cake.” But it was too late.
“What cake?” Gal asks, “He makes cakes?”
“He sends the same cake to everyone,” Dax says. Gal looks stunned.
“Well, not everyone…” Monica says.
And scene. Or you can watch the exchange they clipped on Instagram. The point is: Gal Gadot never received Tom Cruise’s legendary holiday coconut cake, and according to Shepard, Cruise sends the cake to a “majority” of people he’s worked with every year. (He even got to try it last year) But whatever Hollywood inside joke he’s teasing here, Gal is clearly not in on it.
“I don’t like cakes. It’s fine. I like chocolate.” Sure, Gal. Nobody likes cake.
But back to the Bitcoin AI movie (because that’s a sentence now!)—Gadot also made a press appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and discussed the AI use in her upcoming film, Bitcoin, directed by Doug Liman. She reiterated that all of HER work on the film was human-generated; however, “The AI component in this movie is for sets and the lighting,” she said. “We had a broad crew and a lot of people were working on this movie.” (Well, except for the set and lighting designers, but who needs ‘em?)
On the subject of AI use in the industry, she added that “The train has left the station. You’re going to work with it or be out of the game completely.” Sigh. Not the best press day for Miss Gal, and I’m sure there are more stumbles to come as her team attempts to promote an AI Bitcoin movie. Can’t wait!
