LOS ANGELES — Zendaya’s new ring has led many to believe she’s married to actor Tom Holland, but the star isn’t confirming it and shared why she’s intentional about keeping her personal life private.

“I think there’s a balance between hiding and then also just like living your life and enjoying your life and protecting things that are special to yourself and I think everyone kind of has to do that in some way,” the actor told the Associated Press at the premiere of her new film, “The Drama.”

She arrived for Tuesday’s premiere with what appeared to be a wedding band next to a large ring that started speculation at January's Golden Globes that she was engaged to Holland. Her representatives have declined to confirm the couple are married, even after Zendaya's longtime stylist Law Roach teased journalists recently that the wedding had already happened.

Zendaya stars opposite Robert Pattinson in “The Drama,” which has them playing an engaged couple whose relationship is thrown off course during their wedding week because of a secret Zendaya’s character is keeping.

“Whatever kind of job that you have, whatever kind of field that you’re in. Or if you’re dealing with, you know, social media, whatever have you, like we all in some ways have to learn how to keep things for ourselves and pour into ourselves just as much as we pour into the world or our work,” Zendaya told AP.

She declined to elaborate on who designed her rings.

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NEW YORK — A year after the actor’s death, a generative AI version of Val Kilmer will co-star in an independent film, in one of the boldest uses yet of artificial intelligence in moviemaking.

First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled “As Deep as the Grave.” The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health.

Kilmer's estate gave permission for his digital replication, and is being compensated for it. Mercedes Kilmer, the actor’s daughter, said the role resonated with her father.

“He always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,” she said in a statement. “This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.”

Kilmer died last April at the age of 65 from pneumonia. In 2014, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer and required two tracheotomies. After losing his natural speaking voice, Kilmer turned to an AI software company to digital recreate his voice. In his final screen performance, 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kilmer's voice was digitally altered.

The use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking has been one of the most contentious topics in Hollywood in recent years. Lately, some have attempted to make greater inroads for AI-generated performance. The company Xicoia last year launched the AI-concocted persona “Tilly Norwood”; earlier this month, it debuted a music video.

SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, has condemned Xicoia's “AI actor,” but it has regulations around other uses of the technology. Its rules stipulate that consent from performers must be given for the use of digital replicas. “Consent not obtained before death must be obtained from an authorized representative or the union,” reads its guidance.

Representatives for SAG-AFTRA didn't immediately respond to questions Wednesday.

In an email, writer-director Coerte Voorhees and producer John Voorhees said SAG guidelines were followed.

“We believe we are serving as a demonstrator for how to do it ethically and correctly, especially in the case of working with a deceased actor’s estate and family,” they said.

“As Deep as the Grave,” formerly titled “Canyon of the Dead,” was shot several years ago but has been stuck in postproduction. It’s based on a true story about the archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris, whose Arizona excavations uncovered Native American history. The AI version of Kilmer plays Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist. The cast includes Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin.

Coerte Voorhees said Kilmer, who identified as part Native American, was drawn to the project five years ago. Producers are seeking distribution with the hope of releasing the film this year.

“It was very unfortunate that his health at the time prevented him from playing this role which spoke to him spiritually and culturally,” Voorhees said. “We are honored to collaborate with his daughter Mercedes, who brings her own filmmaking experience, to bring this character to life in the way that we had all originally imagined it.”

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Sean Penn wasn’t in Hollywood Sunday to receive his third Academy Award, but the “One Battle After Another” actor proudly accepted a replicated Oscars trophy in Ukraine, where he arrived on Monday.

“You’re missing Oscars, so we made this one,” Ukrainian railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said while presenting Penn with a statue made of metal from a Ukrainian railway carriage hit by Russian missiles.

Pertsovskyi conceded the flat, metal trophy he had to offer wasn’t made from gold like an Oscar statuette, but said “it’s very real and from the bottom of our hearts.”

“These are all treasures, thank you,” Penn replied in a moment broadcast by multiple media outlets.

The statue included an engraved message praising Penn for his talent and thanking the actor for his support.

Actor Kieran Culkin accepted Penn’s best supporting actor award on the 65-year-old actor’s behalf Sunday.

“He couldn’t be here tonight, or didn’t want to,” Culkin told Academy Awards show viewers.

Penn showed up in Kyiv the following day, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called him a “true friend” for continuing to support Ukraine four years into his country’s war with Russia.

When Penn visited Zelenskyy in 2022, it was the 48-year-old Ukrainian leader and former actor who received an Academy Award.

Penn lent him the “symbolic silly thing” the Hollywood Reporter said he won for 2003’s “Mystic River.” Zelenskyy was asked to return the statue once his country had turned back the ongoing Russian invasion.

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From combined wire services