For example, Humphrey Bogart as Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Or say Gregory Peck in Saving Private Ryan. Or how about James Dean as Luke Skywalker!
they’re dead, let them them stay dead and give the living a chance to make their mark on the world
Remember that time they used CG to bring back Peter Cushing in Rogue One? Remember how bad it looked? Remember how disrespectful it was? Maybe we shouldn't do it again.
Remember how bad it looked?
Technology improves. It won’t always look that bad.
Remember how disrespectful it was?
As I recall his family was on board with the choice. It didn’t seem disrespectful to me, I was excited to see the character Tarkin show up when I hadn’t expected him to.
Maybe we shouldn't do it again.
Ah yes, as the old adage says, “If at first you don’t succeed, never try again.”
I don't think "if at first you don't succeed" applies here. Like, I'm annoyed they tried once. I think a more applicable adage is "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
With Disney capital to pay for high-end technology that looked amazing, we found the result was passable at best. Peter Cushing's estate, run by his former secretary, said it was okay, but the overwhelming response from audiences was that it was disrespectful.
We know we couldn't, and we know we shouldn't. So let's not.
Maybe we shouldn’t do it again.
I heard they did it again in the new Alien movie.
Did you know they did the same with Leia? Looked quite indistinguishable.
But yeah, a bit of a gray territory to still use one's image and voice after the passing, with people who might not have properly understood you can almost literally resurrect them back into media.
Oh, I know. And I double checked wikipedia to see what the critical response was. Carrie Fisher liked how it looked. Reviewers said it was "weird and unsettling", "particularly plastic" or "distractingly artificial."
imagine people can't afford to watch all the movies produced in a year — crazy supposition I know, but let's say a ticket has become so expensive people need to pick the film they will watch — would you rather have them pay to see a movie featuring living actors (and while doing so giving those new actors an opportunity to start their career and become the next stars?) or have them pay to watch a product made out of dead actors (and greed) that will only enrich the studios?
Dying is part of the life cycle. Once you're dead, you've become a legit part of the past. And you're supposed to stay gone, so the younger people have their chance too. Sure, those young will not be a clone of Bogart or Bacall but they could become... themselves. That is, as long as Studios don't focus their attention (and greed) on dead actors (and AI-powered scenarios, while we're at it).
Plus, as a 50+ dude myself, imagining an instant I was an actor, I would not want anyone getting the idea that they can inherit my 'image' once I'm dead and use it however they fancy. Money and stuff, help yourself but let my image — my effing face — let it disappear with the body it belongs too. I'm not a product, I'm someone — even if I was an actor.
Also, it makes me wonder is their face what people really miss from dead actors? Are Bacall and Bogart just their face?
And then, I imagine neither Bogart and Bacall would smoke in their new movie? Smoking is such a bad habit, we certainly would not want to give kids such a poor example, right? So what the remastered version of Bacall and Bogart would do, instead? I know, stare at their phone screen (and rage on X or share images of their last meal on Instagram), so modern viewers can identify with them even more easily. That sure would be a much better example for kids.
I'd happily watch some clips of all of your suggestions. But I don't think it's a great idea in reality. There's a lot more to acting that just having a specific appearance. Watching Humphery Bogart's take on the character of Indiana Jones would be awesome, but watching his face deepfaked over Harrison Ford would be meh, and watching a team of graphic artists attempt to recreate what they think would be an interesting Bogart performance might work, but also might be dull, or unimaginative.
What they'd probably need to do, is hire an actor to create the performance then cover his face up with cgi. In which case, I'd rather just watch the actual actor.
But a future where it's easy for fans to create mash ups and fan fiction episodes sounds fun. And I'd happily watch those for fun.
Margaret Hamilton (witch) in a sci-fi Wizard of Oz remake. Oh hell, let's throw Burt Lahr (lion) in there too.
Jimmy Stewart as Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder
Edit: I'm sorry, but the two downvotes make me giggle.
"Mary, MAAARY, what you gotta do, see, is you gotta pull down their pants and spank their ass, you SPANK 'em, Mary!"
I get that they weren't technically movie stars but it would be so cool to see the real James Hunt and Niki Lauda playing themselves in Rush
I get that they weren't technically movie stars but it would be so cool to see the real James Hunt and Niki Lauda playing themselves in Rush
I watched that movie before I was really into F1. Daniel Brühl did such a good job as Lauda that the first time I saw Lauda in an interview I was shocked. And Chris Hemsworth did so good as James Hunt that when listening to a recording of Hunt commenting I knew it was Hunt without having to be told.
Those actors did a PHENOMENAL job in that movie. And damn is it a good movie.
100% the casting was amazing but it still would be cool to see a version with the real people