James Dean will be brought back to the big screen through CGI visual effects for the Vietnam War era drama “Finding Jack.”
The actor, best known for “Rebel Without a Cause,” “East of Eden” and “Giant,” died in a car accident in 1955 at age 24. Magic City Films has obtained rights from his family to cast Dean posthumously in the secondary lead role in the movie.
“Finding Jack” will be adapted from Gareth Crocker’s novel. Based on the actual existence and abandonment of over 10,000 canine units at the end of the Vietnam War, “Finding Jack” is an emotional journey about friendship and love under desperate circumstances.
“We feel very honored 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,” producer Anton Ernst said in a statement. “The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.”
Magic City Films is handling the foreign sales. Mark Roesler, CEO of CMG Worldwide, the business agent for the family of James Dean said, “With the rapidly evolving technology, we see this as a whole new frontier for many of our iconic clients. This opens up a whole new opportunity for many of our clients who are no longer with us.”
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Ernst is producing the film with Tati Golykh of Magic City Films and Donald A. Barton of Artistry Media Group. Canadian VFX company Imagine Engine will be working alongside South African VFX company MOI Worldwide to recreate a realistic version of James Dean. Geoff Anderson from Imagine Engine will be overseeing the VFX supervision relating to the James Dean recreation.
