Well, this is how my mind works. I was stacking firewood on my front porch. It was quite cold. Naturally, in the monotony of the task my mind wandered on to better things. It took the usual route. First it was food. Then breasts. It lingered there for a while, before switching to movies.
In the end I thought about the X-Men. They have two movies currently in production: one is the sequel to X-Men: First Class (called X-Men: Days of Futures Past) which is supposed to merge the prequel/reboot with the original trilogy. The other is The Wolverine. Both movies will feature Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine. And I thought, Hugh Jackman is like the definitive Wolverine. He has played the role in every X-Men feature and spinoff because not only is Wolverine everyone's favorite member of the team, but Hugh Jackman nails it. The thing is, Wolverine does not age. Hugh Jackman does. So what happens when Jackman is too old for Wolverine? I mean, he has already been reprising the role for nearly 15 years, eventually it's going to show.
I guess the answer would be to move on to another actor. It's not impossible to find someone else who could handle the role. Who knows, maybe he be an even better Wolverine. But, I've been thinking. Does that really have to happen? This is the 21st century! Nowadays, they can do just about anything with CGI. Just look at Avatar. Actually, don't. That movie was kind of stupid. Look at Lord of the Rings instead, and how Gollum is played by a dude in a green suit.
One thing they have been toying with, but haven't quite perfected yet, is creating a three-dimensional model of a recognizable human face. And they've tried a few times. In Tron: Legacy, the character CLU was played by a body-double with a computerized model of Jeff Bridges head from a 1980s movie superimposed onto it. And Bridges did voiceover work for the part. It was mostly convincing, but obviously not a real human.There is also Terminator Salvation, which did the same thing with a model of a younger Arnold Schwarzenegger's head in order to recreate the Terminator. The only other example I can think of is actually a commercial for Galaxy Chocolate, in which Audrey Hepburn's likeness is completely artificial (and quite eerie, as she smiles and eats chocolate).
So I was thinking, if Fox owns the rights to the character Wolverine, they can make him look like whatever they want, right? Even if it happens to look exactly like Hugh Jackman? So once Hugh can no longer keep up with the physical needs of the Wolverine character, they could just make a mold of his features and create a digital model that can be used whenever they need it. I suppose he'd have to contribute voice work for a while. But it's only a matter of time before they figure out how to replicate the voice too.
My point is, just like 3D, CG facial likenesses are probably going to get used more and more, for better and worse. And one interesting use would be to keep Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine for another 10 or 15 X-Men movies. What do you think? Would it be more traditional/sensible to eventually get a new actor in the role? Or should the studio just say 'what the hell' and keep Jackman in the role forever? It would be pretty cinematically groundbreaking, not just technologically, but also because it would actually immortalize an immortal character. Think about it.
And for those of you who were wondering how the wood stacking went...some of it was kind of wet. And even though it's early March, there were snails and fungus clinging to some of the downward-facing pieces. That's why it's important to wear gloves.
Oh, and here's a link to the Audrey Hepburn Galaxy Chocolate commercial.
It's weird to think that a computer can mimic the subtle nuances that make an actor's performance. I mean, CLU was obviously not human looking... but it sort of made sense because he existed solely in the game (right? I only saw Tron Legacy once). But the in the Galaxy commercial, you almost can't tell that Audrey Hepburn is CGI-ed. I wonder if it will change how actors approach their roles... if they'll "slack-off," for lack of a better word, because the computer will take care of the physical acting.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be bad for movies if CGI were used too much though. For the actors sure, but more for the audience, I think we'd lose our appreciation for the performances.
Alright well I'm going to dust off my Theater Arts B.A. and get into it here. As Marianne pointed out above, I sincerely doubt that a computer can really capture the "subtle nuances" of a truly a gifted artist. Having done work in live theater, there is always something ethereal about a great actor's performance. Hugh Jackman having been trained in classical theater is a perfect example. There is simply nothing that can truly replicate his likeness or his skill. I know that the medium of theater and film are very different but the actor's work is still relatively the same, and I think that without the man the character won't be there.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think the studio will do whatever it takes to make money. They might make a robot of Hugh Jackman and just cast that or w.e. It's all pretty gothic. Either way...they'll probably just do what Sony did with Spider man and just reboot the damn thing once they stopped caring.
Also I'm a little biased because I was still a little pissed off that they made the Dark Phoenix and Emma Frost to be such secondary characters when in fact...the both of them could ruin Wolverine's life if they wanted to.
P.S. I had no idea they did all of that with CLU in Tron, but it makes sense now. There was always something uncanny about that performance.
P.S.S. Stacking that firewood was crazy. I still think I have a bruise from Mark :/