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Backlash Erupts Against The CGI Resurrection Of James Dean

   DailyWire.com
MARFA, TX - OCTOBER 1955: Actor James Dean on the set of the movie "Giant" in October 1955 in Marfa, Texas.
Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

News that actor James Dean will be getting a CGI resurrection in a forthcoming Vietnam War film after being dead for 60-plus years has not gone over well in some Hollywood circles, prompting a philosophical debate about the ethics of using an individual’s likeness for a creative enterprise in which the deceased artist necessarily has no say.

On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter ignited a social media firestorm with the announcement that a CGI version of actor James Dean will be playing a prominent role in the Vietnam War action drama “Finding Jack.” Director Anton Ernst said the decision to cast James Dean came after “months of research” and that the production will involve complex character arcs.

“We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean,” said Ernst. “We feel very honored that his family supports us and will take every precaution to ensure that his legacy as one of the most epic film stars to date is kept firmly intact. The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.”

According to CNN, people on social media were not nearly as excited. Several Hollywood actors, including Chris Evans of “Captain America,” also voiced strong disapproval.

“I’m sure he’d be thrilled,” tweeted Evans, with an eye-rolling emoji, referencing what he believed would be Dean’s reaction to such news. “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.”

“NOPE. this shouldn’t be a thing,” tweeted “Lord of the Rings” actor Elijah Wood.

Actor Dylan Sprouse tweeted: “Mark Roesler, CEO of CMG Worldwide says in addition to other famous, deceased personalities; the film ‘opens up a whole new opportunity for many of our clients who are no longer with us.’ TO BE READ AS: ‘Found a new way to rob graves of dead icons and milk the masses for less!'”

Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, was equally repulsed by the concept of actors getting a CGI resurrection.

“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,” said Williams. “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.”

Other social media users pointed out the potential ethics violations that would erupt by forcing deceased actors to implicitly promote messages or ideas with which they never agreed.

“I need a full day to lay down and process that they’re using James Dean CGI to project him into a Vietnam War movie when he was actively anti-war and would never been in this movie in life … like how soulless and dystopian was the executive making that decision,” tweeted one user.

“I also feel they can use them to endorse things that they never really believed in. For instance, they could turn Charlton Heston, who stood w/ MLK Jr., into a bitter racist cuz they didn’t like his stand on the 2nd Amendment,” tweeted The Daily Wire’s Jacob Airey.

James Dean will be playing the character Rogan, a secondary lead role, in a story adapted from Gareth Crocker’s novel about the abandonment of more than 10,000 military dogs during the Vietnam War.

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