Congratulations are in order for James Dean, who has booked his first film role since dying in 1955. Thanks (or no thanks) to the power of technology, a CGI Dean will star in a new movie about the Vietnam War.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dean will star in a new Vietnam War film called Finding Jack. The movie will be directed by Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh, who obtained the rights to Dean's likeness from his family.
They'll work with the Canadian VFX company Imagine Engine and the South African VFX company MOI Worldwide to reanimate the late performer.
"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," Ernst said in a statement. "We feel very honoured 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."
Mark Roesler is the CEO of CMG Worldwide, which owns the likeness to late celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Christopher Reeve, Ingrid Bergman, Neil Armstrong, Bette Davis and Jack Lemmon. "This opens up a whole new opportunity for many of our clients who are no longer with us," he said.
"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," Ernst added.
Preproduction for Finding Jack begins later this month, and the film is expected to arrive in theatres on November 11, 2020.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dean will star in a new Vietnam War film called Finding Jack. The movie will be directed by Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh, who obtained the rights to Dean's likeness from his family.
They'll work with the Canadian VFX company Imagine Engine and the South African VFX company MOI Worldwide to reanimate the late performer.
"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," Ernst said in a statement. "We feel very honoured 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."
Mark Roesler is the CEO of CMG Worldwide, which owns the likeness to late celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Christopher Reeve, Ingrid Bergman, Neil Armstrong, Bette Davis and Jack Lemmon. "This opens up a whole new opportunity for many of our clients who are no longer with us," he said.
"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," Ernst added.
Preproduction for Finding Jack begins later this month, and the film is expected to arrive in theatres on November 11, 2020.
