- James Dean, the iconic Rebel Without a Cause actor, may have died in 1955, but he's coming back to life in a new form: as a computer-generated image.
- The CGI will be used in an upcoming film about the Vietnam War, Finding Jack, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- We've taken a closer look at the two visual effects companies that will be working on the Dean double: MOI Worldwide and Image Engine.
James Dean died in a car accident in 1955, when he was just 24 years old. But what's dead may never die, including heartthrob actors. Because James Dean—again, dead as can be for 64 years—is starring in a new movie about the Vietnam War as a decidedly not-dead CGI James Dean, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The two companies teaming up to create the lifelike copy of Dean are MOI Worldwide, a South African visual effects house that also has an office in Cyprus, and the Canadian company Image Engine. The film, called Finding Jack, is expected to debut on Veteran's Day 2020.
Dean 2.0 will star in the live action film, adapted by Maria Sova from a novel by Gareth Crocker. It's about the abandonment of over 10,000 military dogs after the close of the Vietnam War. The CGI Dean will play Rogan, a supporting role. (How do you bring back James Dean from the dead and not have him be the star of the movie?!)
The VFX wizards will recreate Dean using a technique called "full body" CGI, which means actual footage will be used, including photos and video. A separate actor, still unnamed, will provide Dean's voice.
"We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean," director Anton Ernst told THR.
Months of research! To find James Dean!
Here's what we can extrapolate about the zombie Dean based on what we know about those two special effects firms.
Image Engine:
The company has worked on many creatures for high-profile films and television shows, including the dragons in Game of Thrones.
In terms of CGI and people, Image Engine has produced lifelike digital doubles of the Grindelwald character in the Harry Potter spinoff The Crimes of Grindelwald. In a seven-minute sequence, the company also animated the thestrals (dead flying horses that can draw a carriage), a layout of 1920s New York City, and visual effects that created a stormy environment in the sky.
What it means: Since Image Engine has extensive experience in creating CGI characters that must move through dynamic scenery, there shouldn't be a goofy lag or soap opera effect that makes the CGI Dean look fake against more realistic scenery.
MOI Worldwide:
In its portfolio, the company lists multiple commercials that it's recently produced, including one for Vodafone, the British telecommunications conglomerate, Samsung, and other corporations. In the Vodafone video, smartphone features like augmented reality dog ears are superimposed onto real actors, and objects in a phone screen expand and jump out of the four corners of the device to interact with parts of the real world.
The MOI crew has expertise in audio, particularly one team member named Adam Howard. "He continues to bring life to our images and take our productions to the next level with his exceptional talent, oversized recording booth and the latest 5.1. Dolby surround sound studio," the company writes on its website. That could mean good things for the development of a Dean voice for the CGI that matches up well.
It's noteworthy that Dean's character will be designed by two firms in the same space with very different backgrounds. One works on extremely high-profile action films, while the other engages in shorts and corporate advertising videos.
"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," said Ernst. "The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down."
