My latest article about Lucas buying Dead actor likeness

[Mordru]

http://nerdbastards.com/2010/12/06/r...d-movie-stars/

Leave a comment and let me know what you think? Funny? Not funny?

[Taxman]

In the early stages of production for Phantom Menace, I heard a rumor that and Alec Guinness construct was going to play Obi Wan. Probably, it was just a rumor. But clearly the tech was not in place.

In 2009, I went to a panel with James Cameron and Peter Jackson. Cameron was very fired up about his motion capture technology. And he said that it could allow Will Smith to star in action movies into his 80s.

When I saw Avatar, one of the first things that I thought about was that the tech was ripe for new Star Wars films to be made. But of course word come out that instead Lucas is going to look to use it to squeeze even more money out of his old projects

And then there is the tiny bit of footage of Jeff Bridges in the Tron trailer. And that is something which is really striking and damned impressive. And after talking a little bit about it with my son, I figured that the flood gates are probably going to open on this pretty soon here.

This is not really tech I want to see in Lucas hands either because frankly, he hasn't managed to use his toys well in quite a long time. Tron looks like something I have a lot of interest in. The idea of Sean Connery possible making a new Bond film with flashbacks of a 30 year old Connery, or some similar such project seems like something with a lot of potential. Lucas making some odd sort of zombie films, really does not interest me much at all.

BTW, your then and now pic . . .

[WinterRose]

I posted about this on IO9. Here's what I wrote...

I anticipated this. This will only get worse too. Especially when they get Catoms (programmable matter) working between Intel and the DoD.

Why is this? Well, gentle readers, the possibilities for catom 3d displays and simulations of actual persons has already been posited by people a lot more well paid than I am. So models and appearances of classic actors, once said entertainment comes into vogue will be an interesting thing to have.

Don't like the image of <actress> starring opposite <actor>? Easy peasy. Switch out the model of the actress in question and put in Katherine Hepburn from back when she was doing stuff like Bringing Up Baby instead.

The Porn Industry will be all about this. So will the internet. As soon as you can switch actors and actresses in and out of the media you're watching, there will be a brisk pirate trade in celebrity models.

Of course... without the tech to change one person's voice into another, you can really only go so far with this concept. You can visually simulate the actor in question all you like. Someone still has to voice it in a way that sounds believably like the person in question. Which will be rather interesting, and I imagine lucrative for the voice acting and mo-cap community to be sure.

That rather sounds like a character in a sci-fi novel by Gibson really...

"I'm Cary Grant... No. Not the real one. But I'm the best grant impersonator out there to play him for the CGI people at Lucasfilm. You see his face... At least, they tell me you see about a 97% accurate version of him based on the photos and movies they sampled him from.

They're working to improve Cary's skin all the time. But it's not like with modern actors who have themselves scanned when they're young and perfect. With people from the mid 20th century, you don't get the detail and the true contours. There was an old Michael Chrichton movie about that. It had Susan Dey in it...

It's all extrapolated from computers trying to get the best idea they can from watching him on film. And given that in the old films, you didn't get that much skin, the bodies you see on most of these classic actors were scanned from ordinary people with the same general build.

So my voice and movements... some schmo from Hoboken's body and as much of old Cary's face as they could scrape out of the old MGM catalog. All Frankensteined together and out comes the classic actor. But I'm the Oscar winner here. I'm the one doing the acting. I wonder if they'll ever have an Oscar for Best simulation of a Classic Actor?

I've watched 'me' on the screens... I gotta wonder, when does it stop being Cary and start being me? I'm the one acting here. This is really just an extension of being in all that latex they made actors wear back in the 20th century before people like Andy Serkus came along. If what I did were for a biopic, I'd be top billed as myself. But the movies I'm in... they're not coming to see me. They're coming to see Mr. Grant in his latest escapade with Milla Jovovich in It Takes a Thief II: Electric Boogaloo or some such... Cinematic Mash-up's on a whole new level.

Yeah I get paid. But it's not like I'm irreplacable. If I start putting on airs and graces, they'll find another Cary that'll work for less. It's okay though. I do a mean Bogey too. I've got what you call... repertoire. I've heard that they're even talking about doing holographic or catomic stage plays with classic actors where the ACTUAL people are in mo-cap suits in the back. They could pre-record it for stage, but that's not 'live' theater is it? Things, for me, I think are lookin' up. That's showbiz innit?"

[Ben]

And then there is the tiny bit of footage of Jeff Bridges in the Tron trailer. And that is something which is really striking and damned impressive. And after talking a little bit about it with my son, I figured that the flood gates are probably going to open on this pretty soon here.

Based on the clips I've seen, the technology still isn't ready...

[Ashwin Pande]

I'm still waiting for the Build Your Own Pornstar movies to get made.

[Ben]

I'm still waiting for the Build Your Own Pornstar movies to get made.

It'll scan photos of your attractive friends from Facebook and build CGI actresses out of them.

[Ashwin Pande]

It'll scan photos of your attractive friends from Facebook and build CGI actresses out of them.

What if I only have ugly friends?

[Foolish Mortal]

So I take it we're all assuming that this story is true?

[TheNatureRoy]

Based on the clips I've seen, the technology still isn't ready...

I agree -- young Flynn's mouth movement looked really fake and distracting to me in the short clip I saw on a newish trailer.

[Supajoe]

oh noes!! next thing you know, they'll have fred astaire shilling for dirt devil or something!