A.I., A.I., A.I. – the technology is coming for us all. In anticipation of the technology’s eventual takeover of Hollywood, Texas native Matthew McConaughey has trademarked his famous catchphrase “Alright, alright, alright” as a means of preventing A.I. misuse.
Matthew McConaughey’s Trademarks
Citing McConaughey’s attorneys, Wall Street Journal reported that the actor filed eight trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office – all of which were approved. Those trademarks include a clip of him speaking his famous “alright, alright, alright” line as well as other audio of the actor, including actor saying “Just keep livin’, right?” before pausing and iterating, “I mean,” briefly pausing again before asking, “What are are we gonna do?”
For the record, the trademarks did not include another one of this writer’s famous lines from Dazed & Confused, “It’d be a lot cooler if you did”.
Why did McConaughey trademark his iconic phrases?
According to McConaughey, the True Detective actor stated that he trademarked his famous lines as a means of preventing A.I. misuse of his likeness.
“My team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s because I approved and signed off on it,” McConaughey said to WSJ on Jan.13. “We want to create a clear perimeter around ownership with consent and attribution the norm in an AI world.”
The trademarking is a proactive move by McConaughey to establish ownership ahead of time. The actor has given license to ElevenLabs, an AI voice company. The company, of which McConaughey is an investor, reportedly used the technology to create a clone of McConaughey’s voice for the Spanish audio of his Lyrics of Livin’ newsletter.
Where did Alright, Alright, Alright come from?
It was the summer of 1992. Matthew McConaughey was a then RTF student going into his senior year at the University of Texas in Austin. After a chance bar encounter with casting director Don Phillips, McConaughey found himself on the set of Dazed & Confused – a semi-autobiographical film by Texas filmmaker, Richard Linklater.
Linklater, who himself stepping up from the success of his Austin-filmed Slacker, originally saw David Wooderson as something of a filler character. However, McConaughey’s undeniable charm earned the actor a greater role in the film with more lines.
In preparation for his role, McConaughey studiously listened to music prescribed by Linklater including The Door’s Live in Boston 1970 featuring the title track “All Right, All Right, All Right”. Seeing his character as a young rock fan, the song inspired McConaughey to turn it into his own – improvising the phrase in a scene for the movie. The rest, as you know, is history.