Would you watch a movie where the lead actor is deceased?

[bobcat]

Now that we live in an era where CGI's can be convincing enough, even a dead actor can, and has been used many times in movies, albeit in limited time frames.

For years many have dressed and been made up to be close resemblances of dead actors (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, Malcom X, Loretta Lynn, etc...), and for the most part, we just go along for the ride by suspending belief and even admire the remarkable resemblance.

Since the rise of CGI images, actors and actresses can be digitally resurrected and appear in movies. Some are not quite convincing, but others are quite good and will only get better. Will the general public go along for the ride of watching John Wayne do another western, or opt out and feel that if they can't have the real thing, they won't get on board.

We can't ask the dead, but do you think Christopher Reeves would want to take to the skies again as the iconic Superman. Would his family want it, and consider it a tribute?

If the work is convincing enough, would you be in favor of watching movies involving actors and actresses from the past? You may have already seen some of it, but it's still a work in progress.

 

[Marie5656]

If I understand you correctly, an entire movie made staring a dead actor? Nope. I am OK with completing a film already started when the actor died..I think they did that with Heath Ledger and a couple others

 

[Pinky]

Hmmm .. I think not.

 

[PeppermintPatty]

I’m ok with them using the dead actors voice and body image as long as they had prior approval from the person.

 

[HoneyNut]

If the work is convincing enough, would you be in favor of watching movies involving actors and actresses from the past?

That's a really thought provoking question. I'm not sure at all. It might be like artificial flowers, which can be really accurate and beautiful, but if I know they are artificial there just isn't the same feel. Or I'll see a tree in a pot in an office and if upon inspection it has real dirt and appears real, then I appreciate its beauty, but if upon inspection it is a fake, then my feeling is 'eh'.
OTOH, Cary Grant might be worth faking.

 

[Timewise 60+]

Nope, not for me...!

 

[MarkinPhx]

I’m ok with them using the dead actors voice and body image as long as they had prior notice from the person.

That's the key with me, the permission. Kind of a different situation but there was a new Randy Travis album released this year using his old vocals and AI and Randy Travis OK'd it and helped with the project. If he did not give his permission then I would have a different opinion about the project.

The Sopranos did something similar in one scene after Nancy Marchand died.

 

[Della]

I watch, almost exclusively, movies made before 1950. All the actors are dead.

 

[VisualBrian]

The are some actors walking around Hollywood today that I believe died years ago, so yeah. No problem.

 

[bobcat]

That's a really thought provoking question. I'm not sure at all. It might be like artificial flowers, which can be really accurate and beautiful, but if I know they are artificial there just isn't the same feel. Or I'll see a tree in a pot in an office and if upon inspection it has real dirt and appears real, then I appreciate its beauty, but if upon inspection it is a fake, then my feeling is 'eh'.
OTOH, Cary Grant might be worth faking.

Interesting point, and something I find fascinating about the human mind. If we owned a Rembrandt painting, and loved it for 30 years, and then later found out it's a fake, it changes our appreciation of it. Likewise, if a husband bought his love a diamond ring, and she adored it, but later found out it was cubic zirconia, it may change the way she feels about the ring and even him.

It seems that it isn't so much the object or creation that we value, but the perspective we hold regarding it that involves our beliefs, opinions, and cultural measures. Authenticity often matters more than whether we just actually like it, no matter what.

 

[TheOtherRick]

I watch, almost exclusively, movies made before 1950. All the actors are dead.

I do too, but I think he was asking if we would watch a new production made by AI simulating an actor who was already deceased, I probably would out of curiosity.

 

[bobcat]

I do too, but I think he was asking if we would watch a new production made by AI simulating an actor who was already deceased, I probably would out of curiosity.

Precisely. I think I would watch too, but then I'm pretty liberal about that sort of thing. If I like something, I try not to overthink it. Just enjoy. But I realize that everyone's different in what train they will ride.

 

[VaughanJB]

Now that we live in an era where CGI's can be convincing enough, even a dead actor can, and has been used many times in movies, albeit in limited time frames.

For years many have dressed and been made up to be close resemblances of dead actors (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, Malcom X, Loretta Lynn, etc...), and for the most part, we just go along for the ride by suspending belief and even admire the remarkable resemblance.

Since the rise of CGI images, actors and actresses can be digitally resurrected and appear in movies. Some are not quite convincing, but others are quite good and will only get better. Will the general public go along for the ride of watching John Wayne do another western, or opt out and feel that if they can't have the real thing, they won't get on board.

We can't ask the dead, but do you think Christopher Reeves would want to take to the skies again as the iconic Superman. Would his family want it, and consider it a tribute?

If the work is convincing enough, would you be in favor of watching movies involving actors and actresses from the past? You may have already seen some of it, but it's still a work in progress.

I think we have to ask the question: Why would they do that?

I mean, why bring back Reeves to play Superman? We've had several since him.

If they do it just to show a familiar face, then it's pointless. There would have to be a reason for it other than being a known name.

Of course, more common these days is de-aging actors. People like Harrison Ford.

 

[rgp]

Don't we all ? each time we watch an old Bogart or John Wayne movie ?

 

[bobcat]

I think we have to ask the question: Why would they do that?

I mean, why bring back Reeves to play Superman? We've had several since him.

If they do it just to show a familiar face, then it's pointless. There would have to be a reason for it other than being a known name.

Of course, more common these days is de-aging actors. People like Harrison Ford.

I think the reason would be simply because he was the best. There have been several who played Tarzan as well, but Johnny Weissmuller was the best IMO. Some people might like to see Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, or the Duke take the stage again (If it was realistic and convincing enough).

They brought back an aged version of Carrie Fisher after her death to be in The Rise Of Skywalker because her story was unfinished. Even though the scenes were constructed around previously unused footage, she was virtually augmented to be convincing enough for fans to go with it. Her daughter even consented to the point of wanting to be in the scenes with her deceased mother, and she was.

Again, it's not for everyone, but there are a fair number who will permit their analytical brain to take a vacation and just enjoy the ride, much like we do with animated movies.

 

[VaughanJB]

I think the reason would be simply because he was the best. There have been several who played Tarzan as well, but Johnny Weissmuller was the best IMO. Some people might like to see Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, or the Duke take the stage again (If it was realistic and convincing enough).

They brought back an aged version of Carrie Fisher after her death to be in The Rise Of Skywalker because her story was unfinished. Even though the scenes were constructed around previously unused footage, she was virtually augmented to be convincing enough for fans to go with it. Her daughter even consented to the point of wanting to be in the scenes with her deceased mother, and she was.

Again, it's not for everyone, but there are a fair number who will permit their analytical brain to take a vacation and just enjoy the ride, much like we do with animated movies.

Weissmuller was considered the best for his performance, not his look. So we're talking adapting the writing, the visuals, and the look. Still, release a Weissmuller Tarzan film into cinemas today and it wouldn't do too well.

Now Nastassja Kinski circa early 1980's and I'm in!

 

[LoveTulips]

Why? If they are dead, they are dead. I don't want to see an AI Elizabeth Tylor or Richard Burton.