I've been thinking for a while about the whole deep fake craze that Hollywood has been experimenting with now, and I wanted to talk about it for a bit. In this write up I just want to talk about a few things I think about, concerning it and I'll try and go through the good, the bad and why I'm not a fan of it.
So, in the second season of Mandalorian and the first season of the Book of Boba Fett we were able to see Luke Skywalker as he looked around the time of Return of the Jedi, thanks to a stand-in and computer generation. I can't say that it wasn't great being able to see him kicking ass, as if they had just time travelled back to the '80s grabbed Mark Hamill and took him back to the future for a role in the newest Star Wars Tv show. It looked a lot better than it did a few years ago when they had an animated Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher in Rogue One. But, obviously, the technology still isn't there to make it perfect, you can see a major improvement though and Luke Skywalker apart from slight issues looked great. I imagine in five or ten years, they'll perfect it so much that you won't be able to tell the difference.
Just Because You Can, Should You?
If the technology becomes so widespread and accessible once they put the money in to perfect it, is it a good thing? I don't think so. Of course, it's great seeing these actors coming back, (in their prime) for a new role, giving us something we never got to see. But, I think it's like eating icing with no cake. For the timeline that these new shows are set in, we do, kind of need to see these actors at that age in order to tell these stories. The fact that technology has given rise to an infinite well of creativity, to tell all the stories they can possibly dream up. Nothing is off-limits now. But, is it right to do it? Where does it end?
I don't want to spend the whole review browbeating and wagging the finger at the big wigs who overlook these projects, I understand it's important in a story sense. The fact that we have this kind of technology is amazing and I appreciate the time and hard work that goes into doing it and the money that it must of cost them to perform these feats. I'm just afraid of where it could take us.
Bring Out Your Dead
And make them dance around for our amusement. How long will it be before someone says "Hey, You know what I need in my film? Marilyn Monroe, or James Dean." Great, you're able to bring these great actors into the 21st century and it's almost cheaper to do that than it is hiring some A-lister. Can't we just leave these people to rest? I know, within the next few years we'll see it, some movie about old-timey Hollywood, like Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. But, the entire cast will be some of the greatest actors from the period. It'll most likely be a big box office hit and the movie that will showcase the possibilities to the world.
When you have the options available, why not use them? I just think it's wrong, I don't like the idea of it. I know some people were taken too soon, but, does that mean we should have an option to bring them back for one last performance. We all love actors who aren't around anymore, but, being able to pick out these people and add them to your film maybe isn't the best way to appreciate their work or lives.
Humans are obsessed with death and having a world where no one dies, or at least never go away, sounds more like a dodgy Black Mirror episode than a great idea. In fact, I'm sure Black Mirror Covered a topic like this in one of their episodes. If they haven't, it's a free concept for season 5.
It's A Tough Business
Probably something most actors have either heard or been told, as they get rejected for role after role. Now, imagine how much tougher it'll be when they're competing with the greats of each generation before them, instead of just their own. I think it'll become so affordable that it'll be cheaper and easier to just hire SFX artists and a handful of stand in's and when that happens the whole film and tv industry will change. You'll have certain filmmakers who refuse to use it, but, the studios will be, especially if it means they don't have to pay as much.
If that time was ever to come, an Actors life will be a hell of a lot tougher. Not only that, but, we as a society will be stuck in the past and we'll miss the present. Allowing many potentially great actors slip by because we're so engrossed in seeing ghosts on the screen.
Futurama Covered This Same Topic
There was an episode of futurama where people could download copies of famous people that they could date. Now, obviously, that'll never happen. Not in our lifetime anyway, but, they covered the concerns about that in a comedic way, little did they know that not long in the future this would be possible, for people to come back on the big screen, it's funny really. I'm still under the belief that some of the writers for that show and the Simpsons are time-travellers.
Conclusion
I'm not a fan of it and am afraid of where the technology will lead us, this was a pretty free form rant so I'm sorry if it came across a bit all over the place. It's a hard topic to talk about because I can see the benefits, but a part of my mind can see a dark road we could travel down. Envisioning a dystopian future where the greatest Actors of tomorrow get trapped working in McDonald's.
The main reason I wrote this was because of what they've been doing with Luke Skywalker, I think instead of focusing on places to bring Mark Hamill's old self back to the screen, they should be focusing on ways to bring him into the stories as he is now, while we still have him with us. I'd much rather see the man himself performing in a good role as he is now, than see him as we remember him from back then. Anyway, that's enough rambling from me. What do you think of the subject?