A star is born … again.
Stars truly never die, do they? With the advancement of modern CGI (and potentially robotics), stars may be with us for as long as their estate can keep the flame of their remembered existence alive, generating new fanbases decades after they have departed from the earth.
That brave new world became all the more evident with the announcement that actor James Dean, who died in a car crash 60-plus years ago at age 24, will be resurrected via CGI in the Vietnam War action-drama “Finding Jack.”
“Directed by Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh, the project comes from the filmmakers’ own recently launched production house Magic City Films, which obtained the rights to use Dean’s image from his family,” reports The Hollywood Reporter (THR). “Canadian VFX banner Imagine Engine will be working alongside South African VFX company MOI Worldwide to re-create what the filmmakers describe as ‘a realistic version of James Dean.'”
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.
Director Anton Ernst said the decision to cast James Dean came after “months of research” and 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.”
“Our partners in South Africa are very excited about this, as this technology would also be employed down the line to re-create historical icons such as Nelson Mandela to tell stories of cultural heritage significance,” he added.
While another actor will voice James Dean, THR noted that he will be recreated via “full body” CGI using photos and footage.
“Multiple Oscar nominated songwriter Diane Warren wrote the key song for the film and acclaimed composer Laurent Eyquem is on board to score the film,” continued THR. “Preproduction on Finding Jack starts Nov. 17, with a goal for a worldwide release on Veterans Day 2020. Magic City Films is handling foreign sales.”
The filmmakers are now hoping that the CGI technology used to bring Dean back to life on-screen could soon be deployed on other well-known figures.
Mark Roesler, CEO of CMG Worldwide, told THR that James Dean’s inclusion in the film opens up a whole new era of possibilities for deceased actors.
“This opens up a whole new opportunity for many of our clients who are no longer with us,” said Roesler.
While the casting of James Dean represents the first time a deceased movie star has been employed for a major role in a feature film, he is not the first actor to be given such a treatment. In 2016, Disney made waves with the casting of actor Peter Cushing to reprise his role as Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” a move that received mixed reviews in terms of its rendering. Catherine Shoard of The Guardian referred to it as a “digital indignity” that raises some serious philosophical questions:
The people who are actually driving this form of immortality are the living, whether to cope with their own loss or negotiate problematic plot-holes. Access to such tools will soon be devolved further. If it’s possible for loved ones to bridge the great beyond by feeding old emails into a machine, why not complete strangers with access to our Twitter feed?
But there’s a deeper unease too, as testified by the fact that Cushing’s comeback was so well done. This suggests the problem is not quality of execution but simple concept. Jesus aside, resurrection has been primarily employed by fiction which seeks to unsettle. The power of Christianity derives in large part from that final-reel twist. The power of a lot of horror comes from the subversion of the natural order.
The dignity of death ought to be preserved.