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| Pic via: Imdb |
Yesterday, the news was everywhere. All the media speculated about director George Lucas' "new project". British actor/director Mel Smith, who worked with Lucas and whom the press calls his friend, said to the British newspaper Daily Mail:
‘He’s been buying up the film rights to dead movie stars in the hope of using computer trickery to put them all together in a movie, so you’d have Orson Welles and Barbara Stanwyck appear alongside today’s stars.’
So, one site ironized "This is good news for anyone who’s yearned to see Katharine Hepburn share a tender embrace with Robert Pattinson or watch Jimmy Stewart hunting down bad guys with The Rock."; another fantasied: "It could mean screen greats such as SIR ALEC GUINESS appearing with the likes of JAMES DEAN and MARILYN MONROE."; and one even started comparing "the new generation" of actors with "the old guard" in Renée, meet Bette.
But finally, Wired received an e-mail from Lucasfilm spokesman, Josh Kushins, who states:
“This rumor is completely false"
Anyway...what do you think about this idea? Would you like to see stars from the past in new movies? Who would you like to see together? And it's not inserting an old scene in a new movie, like in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), it's actually using computer-generated imagery (CGI) to make them "act" in the films. But then, how things would work? Would they, for instance, be able to receive awards?
This is a bit like the movie S1mone (2002), in which Al Pacino creates a super actress using a computer:
This is a bit like the movie S1mone (2002), in which Al Pacino creates a super actress using a computer:
One hears, from time to time, that star avatars are closer than ever to realization. The sooner the better, I say!
ReplyDeleteI just discussed this topic as well...
ReplyDeletehttp://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/360363.html
I'm fearful that film producers will misuse classic-era stars. Yes, you might be able to bring back the images of William Powell and Myrna Loy, but restoring their personalities, trying to capture what makes them tick? Well, that's something else entirely...and it's almost like playing God. I commented that it's too bad we can't similarly resurrect the great directors and writers of the era to complement the revived stars and utilize them property.
We'll probably end up with some really schlocky results, such as Marilyn Monroe in "Attack Of The 50-Foot Woman." (Of course, the first version of that film was made in 1958 -- while Monroe was still alive -- and had someone then suggested such a project to her, she would have laughed in their faces.)
Thanks for your comments guys :)
ReplyDeleteI share your feelings: on one hand it's an exciting idea to see them again in new projects, but on the other hand, how would this be managed? How can you buy the right to use the work/body/soul of dead people the way you feel like, and make them interact in new scenarios? It's really a complex subject that should be carefully managed.
And VP81955, I don't know about that "Attack Of The 50-Foot Woman" version you mentioned. How did they use Marilyn in it??
Clara, Monroe wasn't in it...but it's conceivable that someone today might want to create a CGI mega-Marilyn to stomp through a city.
ReplyDeleteLOL, thanks for that clarification!My two neurons present a failure to communicate, as Cool Hand Luke would say :)
ReplyDeleteit's a fascinating idea but not something I would approve of, really. you can CGI a body but how realistically can a voice be recreated for new dialogue? as noted without the inflection and special personality behind it it's just not the same.
ReplyDeleteMeredith, thanks for stopping by! I agree with you, it could never be the same.
ReplyDeleteMeredith, thanks for stopping by! I agree with you, it could never be the same.
ReplyDeleteOne hears, from time to time, that star avatars are closer than ever to realization. The sooner the better, I say!
ReplyDelete