By now, you’ve probably heard about how James Dean, who died in 1955 at age 24, is on the verge of starring in another movie. No, we’re not talking about a zombified version of the former heartthrob but something perhaps equally morbid because Dean’s estate has given the greenlight for Magic City Films to recreate his likeness through full-body CGI in Finding Jack. This seems like a complicated undertaking, and that surely will be the case because the process will use old footage and photos of Dean.
Not to mention that this tactic may have been inevitable, given that Marvel Studios and Martin Scorsese (who’s about to unleash The Irishman) have been rolling back the clock on their own actors in order to time-travel, but entirely recreating an actor feels like the crossing of a line. Unsurprisingly, actors are not overjoyed to hear about this news, beginning with Captain America himself, Chris Evans, who’s no stranger to CGI accentuation but within boundaries. He’s making his disapproval known on social media.
“I’m sure he’d be thrilled,” the Knives Out actor tweeted with an eye-roll emoji. “This is awful. Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes. The complete lack of understanding here is shameful.”
https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1192137540842733568
Meanwhile, Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, declared that she’s not at all surprised that this is happening. For the record, Robin made sure that no one would be able to exploit his likeness for at least 25 years after he passed away. “I have talked to friends about this for YEARS and no one ever believed me that the industry would stoop this low once tech got better,” Zelda tweeted.”Publicity stunt or not, this is puppeteering the dead for their ‘clout’ alone and it sets such an awful precedent for the future of performance.”
https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/1192141551171854338
“NOPE. this shouldn’t be a thing,” added Elijah Wood.
NOPE. this shouldn’t be a thing. https://t.co/RH7jWY5cAG
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) November 6, 2019
Preacher‘s Julie Ann Emery was on board with the dismay: “Yeah, that’s not James Dean.” She continued to explain how the process will actually be accomplished through motion-capture, which would lead to questions about proper crediting and compensation for the true performer behind Dean’s ghostly visage. Those are solid questions.
https://twitter.com/julieannemery/status/1192109211267690496
(Via Hollywood Reporter & Deadline)
