The internet world became frantic on Nov. 6 over the news that James Dean — an icon of Hollywood’s “Golden Era” — would be starring in a new film titled “Finding Jack,” directed by Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh. Sparking the controversy is the fact that Dean died over 60 years ago in a fiery Porsche crash, on Sept. 30, 1955.
Reactions to the news were swift, and several celebrities reacted to the news on Twitter. Comedian and actress Bette Midler commented, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you things have gotten more difficult for white guys in Hollywood. Even dead ones can still get a job.”
Actor Elijah Wood got his thoughts across more matter-of-factly with “NOPE. This shouldn’t be a thing.” However, one of the more outspoken critics, Zelda Williams — the daughter of the late comic great Robin Williams — has an actual stake in the matter. Williams wrote, “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.”
Prior to his unexpected death in 2014, Zelda’s father made legal arrangements restricting the use of his image for 25 years following his death.
The reactions weren’t all negative, though, and through the family’s lawyer, James Dean’s relatives has voiced support for his upcoming role.
Using computer-generated imaging software to bring deceased people into cinema isn’t new. Paul Walker in 2015’s “Furious 7,” Carrie Fisher in 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and Peter Cushing in the same Star Wars installment are three of the most prominent examples of how CGI can bring the dead back to the big screen. Fisher is an example of Disney’s practice of scanning all their actors and actresses — a practice that has been going on relatively quietly for a few years.
According to a Vulture exposé on the highly complex scanning process, it can take “up to two days, cost around a million dollars, and generate between five to ten terabytes of data.” But it’s a worthy investment for studios if they can use an image, or person, to their advantage years down the road.
Donald Glover, speaking to the “New Yorker” in February 2018, expressed his skepticism and discomfort with being scanned ahead of Disney’s 2018 Star Wars spinoff, “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
“Who’s to say that at some point they won’t take that scan and say, ‘Let’s make another movie with Donald. He’s been dead for fifteen years but we can do whatever we want with him.’”
There are positive aspects to the practice, as pointed out in a report by “Wired” reporter Olivia Solon. For example, “When stunts are too dangerous for the star, photo-realistic computer-generated models can be inserted into scenes.” Or, in the case of Martin Scorcese’s new Netflix-produced epic, “The Irishman,” actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci can appear 30-plus years younger on screen.
In 2005, Joel Anderson, for the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review, researched the ramifications of this practice and published a paper titled “What’s Wrong with This Picture – Dead Or Alive: Protecting Actors in the Age of Virtual Reanimation.”
Anderson concluded rather grimly that “virtual clones will predictably be used in unauthorized motion pictures produced in states that offer the least amount of right of publicity protection or postmortem protection, or both. They will also be used in films made outside the United States where there is no legal protection or where the law is unenforced.” So, essentially, the average person could profit off a celebrity’s image.
Despite the controversy, the directors of “Finding Jack” are still planning to use a CGI recreation of Dean for their film. Ernst told the Hollywood Reporter that “we searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan. After months of research, we decided on James Dean.”
