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Return of the Dragon
Lysander Luddite writes: "More CG actors, this time of Bruce Lee in a film tentatively titled "Dragon Warrior" by Korean filmmaker Chul Shin. Wired has the details. Compare to an older Wired article when this type of thing was just beginning." There's a Reuters article too.
...if the title is any indicator, we'll be seeing a lot of 8-bit sprites running around fighting slimes and wraiths.
I've never met a moviestar in my life, so I wouldn't know the difference between a real one, and a fake one;)
Throw Brandon in there too.
I'm all for using computers to generate characters, but when the technology gets good enough to recreate a living person, why not use it to create a totally new person?
It just seems kinda odd that a company can buy the rights to a person's likeness.
Is that correct to put him in a film, without let him having the choice ? I think we should think about the respect of his memory ...
So...are they going to bring back all of the old video games as movies, then? And using actors who have very little to do with anything in the plot?
I don't think I'm going to go see that. I think I'll wait for the pong movie to come out. I hear they're casting Elvis as the lead opposite Marylin Monroe. Apparently there's gong to be a musical number about hitting the ball.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
Oliver Reed died during filming of Gladiator and apparantly they used some sort of pioneering CGI to finish his scences. Quite interesting as it was considered to be his finest role in years, so is this an indicator of how good Bruce's new movie could be?
Or will it be more like that dreadful Pepsi add a few years back with Bogart, Marilyn and Einstein??
Po
Instead of working to properly synchronize the actor's lips with the dialogue, just dig up an actor who couldn't do it when he was alive. Real clever :)
(Yes, yes, I know the sound was recorded separately from the video for cost-cutting reasons, and yet somehow most real Chinese martial arts movies still take longer to watch than they did to make)
Am I the only one who heard Roxette to sing "I'm gonna get blitzed for some sex"?
Release date: 2004.
Post it as news then.
m00.
I can just imagine that what Hollywood wants is to be able to by the rights to the images of famous actors from their estates, so that they can pump out endless movies with familiar faces on the cheap. Just think of those commercials from a few years ago where bogart and wayne were seen to be pushing coca cola.
If they had a chance, they would likely jump at the chance. Never mind someone who looks like some celebrity, but isn't quite. I can just see the law suits now!
I recall some story on slash a while back about the chance of thise sort of thing happening down the road with digital actors on your computer desktop. (I think this was about using a gaming system as a movie production tool) A movie file then would in some way be sort of similar to a MIDI file, specifying the actors actions. There are obvious applications for all varieties of "Home Entertainment" projects (quit leering!)
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Here's a scenario: I want to make a porno starring Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin. I use computers to make a lifelike digital movie. Now theres a good chance that people won't associate these actors with the Little Dictator or Gentleman Prefer Blondes. Instead they'll be known for 'Charlie and Marilyns Hardcore Anal Fantasies (vol.1 - 25)'.
Or take it to a greater extreme:
Brad Pitt refuses to star in my next blockbuster. I kill him and have his digital copy star in it instead. (He's dead so he can't sue).
D
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Bruce coulda kicked ass on all them pussies.
I think it's fine to do this sort of thing, but that the film should indicate in the opening credits which actors are digital likenesses, so the viewer can take that into account.
Remembering the Slashdot stories about the DVD player with adjustable ratings and this voice-duplication system makes me wonder&when will films come with face-mapping data built into the DVD (or whatever format) and allow us to replace any actor in the film with the face/voice combination of our choice?
It could start out as a novelty, of course, where you and your friends pop up as extras in the background, but eventually I could see picking and choosing your favorite actors as easily as picking tracks for a CD compilation.
How far do you suppose we are from this happening?
You can't turn a crap movie into a good movie just by putting Bruce Lee into it. These people seem to care more about making a good Bruce Lee model than a good movie, and I bet it's going to show in the result.
Pity - Bruce Lee would have kicked anyone's ass who tried to make a replica of him...
Ceci n'est pas une sig
Crouching Clones, Hidden Actors.
Article and Movie summation, but we'll see in 2004.
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Luck favors the prepared, darling.
People jumping in the air, then travelling horizontally, before landing vertically down again.
Actors walking and talking in a strange, unrealistic manner.
Loud cabbage-being-snapped type sounds whenever an arm breaks.
A plot which doesnt make sense, and which can be completely ignored and not effect the enjoyment value at all.
Sorry...is this a film, or a computer game?!
Too bad they didn't have this available for Elvis' last concert :-\
--- Mercutio was right.
While I question the taste of what looks to me like just a novelty project, at least this movie might mark a return to more old-school martial arts. I don't know about everyone else, but I've had my fill of people flying around, dodging bullets and hitting guys with motorcycles (wtf??). It was cool in the matrix but it's since lost its charm.
If this works out well, then do the same thing for Brandon and make a real Crow sequel.
Dude (damn, I sound like one of those college egomaniacs I always despised)
Check out "Kiss of the Dragon" when it's available. Plot is predictable, but the action is phe-frickin'-nomenal and there ain't no wires, just Jet Li moving FAST.
Bruce Lee was a great martial artist, and some of his fight scenes rocked, but all of his movies were awful. Somehow I doubt someone that would stoop to using a dead action star's image will put any serious effort into acting and storyline.
On a vaguely unrelated note, go out and rent "Wu Tang Champ Vs. Champ" for a truly sublime kung-fu experience. It stars Dragon Lee, also known as (here's where i keep from being completely off-topic!) Bruce Lei. Not to be mistaken for Bruce Le or Bruce Li, Dragon does Bruce Lee almost as well as Bruce Lee does Bruce Lee.
Easy does it!
This comment has been submitted already, 276865 hours , 59 minutes ago. No need to try again.
Basically, this technology just allows us to remix, rehash pop (movie) art again and again.
But where's the creativity? The budding young stars that will be left out while the digital imitations of former greats crowd the screens?
I know, I know, look to music remixes and how creative they are. But honestly, I'd prefer a new artist with a great new sound to a remix anyday.
I hope the same doesn't start happening as much with cinema.
"We're sorry, but the website you're trying to reach has been disconnected."
This is kinda' cool in theory, but it opens the doors to a whole host of problems. If we keep using established actors, even after they die, what about the up and coming? What's next, a new Frank Sinatra movie, or better yet, lets take old actors and digitize their youth. We could make old actresses regain their sex symbol status. I don't know about you, but I don't want some dead guy taking my job.
Cheap storage VM.
is that bad, that I have read about this already... on AOL!!! sheesh!
There are plenty of talented, new actors working there butts off to get a break. Any actor respectful of his/her fellow actors should refuse to do a movie with a dead man.
In Deed - the _entire_ point of Bruce Lee's skill was that he did things other people couldn't. Hell, he did things with his body we didn't think bodies could do. So they think that now they can find some guy who studied Jeet Kun Do, or whatever it is they are saying he has mastered, and he'll move like Bruce?
The point is, nobody moves like Bruce. That's why we watch him. I'm thinking this will be bad not only for the moral reasons (which bug me immensely), but for the technical/practical reasons. And hell, why not just call it Tekken 8: The Movie. Starring Law.
Any technology which is distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
"he says it's a relatively simple task to digitally doctor the voice to make it a near-exact replica of Lee's voice." Why stop there! Im sure by 2004 at&t speach synth(http://www.naturalvoices.att.com) will be advanced enough to cause the executors of Lee estate to get worried.
When Alias first released Maya 1.5 on NT (maybe a year and a half or so ago), a pair of artists created a very realistic 5 minute clip of bruce lee doing some martial arts and even a close up, I believe the quote when the camera zoomed for a close-up dialog was something about water and how it becomes whatever you put it in "you put it in a cup, it becomes the cup". There was voice, there was extremely realistic video, etc. Alias Maya is now at 4.0, I dont see what the big deal is, same model, some new backgrounds, a new plot, and a couple more animators to stretch 10 minutes to 90. *shrug* I woulda been impressed in 99, now its just a remake.
See i was thinking if GL ever wanted to make Episode 7,8,9 he'd have to CG Luke, Han, and Leia as they are way too old to play the roles now, and you *cannot* trying making 7,8,9 with other actors :)
But I still don't think its right. I'm a huge Bruce Lee fan but it just doesn't seem right to resurrect him as a Digital Zombie. Are we going to see a film starring Bruce and his son Brandon (who was killed while filming The Crow)? I'd rather just enjoy the films he did make. There still isn't anyone who can move like he did.
Remember Lexington Green!
http://www.fiktiv.com/crowe/articles/garticletf.ht ml
Lines of interest: "Totally false," says Penny. "What we did was very similar to the process used on The Crow after Brandon Lee died. We did not recreate a CG Oliver Reed and get him to walk. We just took him from one scene and placed him into another."
324006
Today we have Sulley from Monsters Inc - every hair in his fur is separately modeled. I guess since they've mastered fur, they can now move onto dead people.
But your idea about killing Brad Pitt may have some merit...
I hope it's better than this:
http://www.y2khai.com/khai02.html
It's like this and like that and like this and huh.
Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
Kinda like the John Wayne Commercials, but these too will lose their appeal... but then again, considering what HollyWood has been pumping out lately, who knows...
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Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
I was going to name the specific "actors" I was proposing - but it seems unkind. They are so lame, they're sitting ducks.
Atleast we all know that the fighting will be much quicker and less drawn out once Christo gets his Defeat spell ;)
-Theed
that Lee isn't doing all his own stunts?
If the studios think they can make a buck by exploiting dead actors, they will.
-Legion
i find this kinda spooky? will they use live action shots from older movies?
Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself cou
Well....
Jackie is getting (and starting to look) old. He certainly has some charisma but his films are defintely not like Bruce Lee's. Jackie loves action, but not violence. Most of Bruce Lee's work relied on violence and venegence. I think he should do more behind the camera work.
Jet Li looks great on film. He's helped in large part by camera and editting tricks. I'm not slamming Jet, but the style of movies from the early 70s to now is completely different. He does have a lot of charisma although his AMerican films seem to focus more on his "bad ass" side than his HK stuff.
It'll be interesting to see if this proposed film will continue with the contemporary style or go back to the Cheng Che style of filming with lots of static shots that emphasize form and power over glitz and a melange of styles.
You are right about the charisma thing. I'm sceptical a CG of Bruce Lee can capture it. And there are a lot of great martial artists available that just don't have the charisma to be the hero in a big box office draw. The opposite is true of course, although CGI is being used to make Ekin Cheng look like he can do martial arts.
I hate the whole idea of CGI actors, especially using people who can't say whether they would want a CGI likeness of them being used. Its just another symptom of copyrights and IP being applied way too long IMHO.
Awwwww :(
> You can't re-animate Bruce Lee, period.
I agree with your sentiment, but I'd still like to put in a plug for Jackie's cartoon series, The Jackie Chan Adventures. Made for children, but geeks might like it. No, it isn't like watching his better movies, but it's fun. And funny.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
What do you think Tiger Woods and and Michael Jordan are selling to Nike? Or what about those KISS action figures, for that matter?
- If This Peace Is Fictious, I Shall Destroy It
Color me virtually excited! I'll have to send my clone down to check it out first...I can't be bothered with the menial things.
------
Let me give you the lowdown
"I see dead senseis"
At least he's not dancing with a fucking vacuum cleaner.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Ha ha ha...
Korean Movie Makers don't know how to make movie.
Their camera angle sucks & their lighting sucks.
They cannot develop film correctly. Nobody in
Korea write any good stories. Nobody has figured out on recording sounds correctly.
It's simple...they have not figured out how to do the basics of film making. How will they able to out do the "Final Fantasy CG?". They may have money to burn but Koreans don't have talents to finish the product! I think this producer is a Crook!
Oktokie
Your imitation needs work; you have to let it kinda trail off while you look intense and unhappy. Mine would have been better if the goddamn lameness filter wasn't such a piece of shit.
I don't know if I agree with your view on the imposibility of re-animating Bruce. CG has come in leaps and bounds. I do a lot of graphics related work, but I still find myself astounded every now and then with some of the new techniques being published. Even if they fail to capture Bruce, the problems they solve on the way should make for interesting research. Don't prejudge this, it could blow you away.
Wow, the lameness filter really sucks. qwerty
This sig is false.
The BBC's Research and Development Department, working in conjunction with Avatar and BT Labs and De Montfort University have come up with the Prometheus Project, which is an attempt to create high quality 3D animated actors.
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Shin is looking for an actor whose voice resembles Lee's voice to read his lines; he says it's a relatively simple task to digitally doctor the voice to make it a near-exact replica of Lee's voice.
...
Shin also has a short list of Asian martial arts performers who have learned to imitate Lee's moves very closely. He plans to film them using motion capture equipment that he can then incorporate into his digital Bruce Lee models -- giving fight sequences a natural flow.
so.. he's going to have a Lee talkalike and a Lee fightalike, and potentially a Lee lookalike (for wide shots and such). so why not just use them, and traditional photography, instead of trying to resurrect Bruce Himself through technology? Hell, Brandon Lee did an admirable job in his shot at it.
the result would likely be a better homage to Lee, and less the necropheliac masturbation that has been the result of similar efforts thus far.
let the dead stay dead, dammit. especially the dead guys we liked when they were alive.
- Entertaining Bits from the Ancient Kernel Tree
I can hear it now.
"Can't these CGI characters even act?"
Besides, what the hell do we need with a CGI Bruce Lee, anyway? We already have a perfectly good CGI Jet Li in Romeo Must Die and The One.
Ooooh, the potential! Natalie Portman and Jessica Alba doing the wild thing, and not just 28 seconds in mid-clip with bad disco playing over the grunts and groans! Talk about the internet killer app: porn that you can create with anyone you lust after doing anything you want! Including to you!
Yeeee-eesss!
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
Watch out for those rising stars! Although it wasn't a "pure" arts flick, Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon featured Ziyi Zhang, who at 20 years old already has moves that put Chan & Li to shame. The battle between Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang at the end of CT:HD was probably the best martial arts sequence I've ever seen, and yeah, I've seen pretty much every HK flick of any signifigance.
Let's not worry about hanging onto the past, but instead look towards the future. There will never be another Bruce Lee, but you know what? That's okay. Watch his movies if you want to see him, watch new stars if you want to see new movies.
A moderately cheesy vision of this technology:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0082677#comment
Abe Lincoln has been dead for a long time, copyright has expired on his portrait (10 years after death, IIRC)
This may be true of Abraham Lincoln, but it isn't true of anybody who died on or after January 1, 1931. Copyright lasts until the later of 70 years after December 31 on or after the death of the last surviving author, or 95 years after December 31 on or after first publication. And yes I do think believe that the term is too long to effectively "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." See also Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.
Even then, trademarks never expire as long as they remain in use.
Will I retire or break 10K?
You can't re-animate Bruce Lee, period.
That's what you hope. Hope doesn't make it so.
You acknowledge that a man can have talent, yet you don't think animators can have talent.
They can.
The producers may not have the money to hire them this time.. but eventually...
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Final Fantasy might not have had the best story line ever but it did have the best CG. There were times in which I'm sure I forgot they weren't real.
We seldom regret saying too little but often regret saying too much.
How long till we are totally in the world of looker, we have the CGI actors, now all we need is the hypnotic eyes.