On Sept. 30, 1955, the world lost what was perhaps one of its greatest acting talents. Actor James Dean died in a car crash at the age of 24. Sixty-four years after the day of the accident, Dean is still lovingly remembered by the film world and casual fans alike for his strong, though, unfortunately, short-lived, career. Many still speculate as to what he would have done had he survived. Though the actor himself will never answer this question, director Anton Ernst (“Momentum”) has decided to do so himself, recently announcing that Dean will be digitally recreated in order to star in his upcoming Vietnam War film, “Finding Jack.” Though this film will give audiences who had not seen Dean act during his lifetime the opportunity to witness him on the big screen, the project feels less like a genuine tribute to the late actor and more like an unethical outlet for filmmakers to profit off of his legacy.
Over the course of his six-year career, Dean broke through to the mainstream by starring in the films “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant.” Prior to his death, Dean was set to star in the film “Somebody Up There Likes Me” and was later replaced by actor Paul Newman (“Cool Hand Luke”). Though the idea of Dean experiencing a longer career is certainly a pleasant thought to ponder, the thought of him posthumously appearing in another film is also one to fear, for it is not entirely guaranteed that a project such as “Finding Jack” could ever live up to the legacy established by his past performances, thus creating the potential for his essentially flawless resume to be tainted.
Another point of concern is how well the computer-generated imagery can realistically recreate Dean’s likeness and place it into the film’s setting. In recent years, films such as “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” have proved that digitally placing deceased actors into films is a possibility, with the face of actor Peter Cushing (“Dracula”) being digitally superimposed onto a double so that he could “reprise” his role of Grand Moff Tarkin. However, the decision for the studio to portray Cushing in this capacity was met with criticism, due to the fact that it was a voice actor that gave the performance, not Cushing, in addition to the disturbing notion of witnessing the likeness of an actor deceased for over 20 years. As such, the fact that a digital shell of a man being called “James Dean” is being given a lead role in a film is all the more alarming, for it will feel almost ghostlike and disturbing rather than a welcome reintroduction to a long gone actor.
Even if the film itself turns out to be high quality, Dean’s presence within it will still remain in the minds of many as troubling and regretful. Even if it is his face that the audience is viewing, one must still acknowledge that it is not the real Dean that they are seeing, but instead a computer-generated puppet posing as him. Because of this, it will ultimately be recognized that this digital creature could never deliver a performance even close to as masterfully and powerfully as the legend which it is mimicking could. Though we have yet to see a final product, the sheer concept of it stands as a shameless effort to capitalize on a theoretical future which never occurred, and would be better left off that way.
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