How Things Are Changing: James Dean Starring In A Movie 60 Years After Dying

Old models are being obliterated rapidly. This is creating a lot of disruption in the business/investing community along with opportunities.

One area that we see being altered is entertainment. There is a lot taking place with digital graphics and streaming. Netflix was a darling of Wall Street for a long time because of the disruption it brought. Now, the predator is the prey with a number of other entities starting to take aim at the streaming leader.

Movies are another realm where there is great potential for change. Because of technology, producers and directors have options that never existed before.

One of those options is to fill a role in a movie with someone who is dead more than half a century.

Traditionally, there was an issue if a the perfect actor for a role was dead. This is no longer a hindrance as the producers of Finding Jack proved.

They felt that James Dean was the ideal person to play Rogan. Again, the fact that Dean last appeared in a movie in 1956 presented a challenge.

Here is where technology entered the picture.

Dean's image rights were obtained from his family by the production studio and they will use a variety of technologies to recreate his body and voice. The goal is to basically re-create a digital version of the original James Dean.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/6/20951485/james-dean-new-movie-cgi-recreation-finding-jack

Ponder for a few minutes how this could change everything. What does it do to actors/actresses who are not yet known? Will companies lean towards those who already have a following as compared to newer people?

Aging is no longer a problem. Even if a one is in his or her 70s, the technology an re-create a version 40 years younger. Thus, even though the actor is actually aging, the digital copy can keep playing roles from his or her prime.

How about the cost of production? We know some Hollywood celebrities get an enormous payday for appearing in films. The name alone can often recoup a large portion of the expenses.

If, however, a studio is just paying for the image, do we see a serious reduction in costs?

This all leads to the question of whether or not our stars actually need to exist? With technology, we are already seeing the ability to create images of people who do not exist. There are numerous AI applications out there that can create people out of thin air. Their image is not real yet is ideal for, say, marketing publications. No need to pay models to appear in the advertisements.

If we take this one step further, do we see a time where an entire digital "actor" is completely fabricated? Could it be that one of our most popular stars, who appears in a number of films over a decade, never even existed?

The answer becomes pretty obvious. If we can re-create James Dean while also having the ability to generate fake faces, the concept of merging the too is not far-fetched. In fact, it almost becomes reasonable when one thinks about the economics.

After all, didn't people fall in love with C3PO and Chewbacca from Star Wars? How much of a stretch is it to fabricate humans instead of robots or Wookies?

Here we see a prime example where technology is going to have a major financial impact on an industry. How it all unfolds will only be seen over time.

What we do know is that if there is financial incentive, the companies behind the production will try it. This could lead to some breakthroughs that are beyond out imagination right now.

Technology tends to keep moving forward, hence, this is only the first step in the process. I surmise that, in a decade, our viewing habits as it pertains to entertainment will be radically different.

We might be seeing the death of the movie start. Or perhaps, dead movie stars embarking upon a second career.

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