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James Cameron On How Avatar Technology Could Keep Actors Young

Suki I writes "An article at EW discusses another use for Avatar's sophisticated motion-capture technology: 'Sure, it's terrific for turning human actors into big blue alien Na'vis. But the photorealistic CGI technology James Cameron perfected for Avatar could easily be used for other, even more mind-blowing purposes — like, say, bringing Humphrey Bogart back to life, or making Clint Eastwood look 35 again. "How about another Dirty Harry movie where Clint looks the way he looked in 1975?" Cameron suggests. "Or a James Bond movie where Sean Connery looks the way he did in Doctor No? How cool would that be?"' The article goes on to quote Cameron as saying you would still need actors to play the roles, and that an ethical line needs to be drawn somewhere."

13 of 404 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Ethical line ? In movies ? by RobVB · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, this coming from a guy who tried to murder an entire alien civilization for our viewing pleasure.

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    I'd rather you rationally disagree than irrationally agree.
  2. Oh my dream will come true! by nanospook · · Score: 3, Funny

    Bring back Ronald Reagan!

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    Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
  3. Re:Ethical? by RobVB · · Score: 2, Funny

    Movie production of the future will be done in third world countries

    Don't you think you're overreacting a bit? Sure, California has been hit hard by the recession, but it's not a third world country yet.

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    I'd rather you rationally disagree than irrationally agree.
  4. Re:Using existing actors is only the first step by Suki+I · · Score: 2, Funny

    But then who is Conan going to interview?

    CGI Conan or real Conan?

  5. Re:Avatar did not address the uncanny valley by Zarf · · Score: 3, Funny

    replicate the actor down to the pours

    pores?

    No, no, it really is "pours" ... see it's very hard to mimic the way an actor pours milk.

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  6. Re:Ethical line ? In movies ? by Zarf · · Score: 3, Funny

    but it *looked* so real.

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  7. Re:"How cool would that be?" by Suki+I · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, if it's one thing that George Lucas has proven, it's that good special effects don't make a good movie.

    Just like amazing graphics don't make a good game.

    Was that a diss against Howard the Duck? It was, don't deny it!

  8. Re:Ethical line ? In movies ? by Suki+I · · Score: 2, Funny

    Once you cross that twain (sic), anything is possible.

    Posting AC obv.

    Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer? Not seeing that is blowing up big, but maybe.

  9. Re:Avatar did not address the uncanny valley by absurdist · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, no, poors. As in reverting their appearance to when they were young and poor and hungry for fame.

  10. Re:Avatar did not address the uncanny valley by weeboo0104 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ahhh, I see the grammar Na'vi's are out in force.

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    It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
  11. Re:James Cameron perfected... what? by Backward+Z · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wah, this kid tried to deliver my paper this morning and he only managed to throw it halfway up my driveway so I yelled at "MWAH! Don't you kids these days know how to throw? My infant niece can throw better than that!"

    Then I went to Starbucks to get my regular drip coffee but they didn't leave enough space at the top of the cup for me to put my cream so I asked the barista, "Where the fuck am I supposed to put my cream? Are you stupid or something? How hard is it to make a cup of coffee with enough room for the cream?"

    Then that night, when I didn't think things could get any worse, my wife wanted to bring me to some new steak restaurant with "new and innovative" cooking techniques. I was like, "What the fuck? You take the meat, you put it on the grill. You grill the meat, then it's cooked, then you eat it. What needs to be new or innovative about that? YOU COOK THE STEAK THEN YOU EAT IT."

    So then I drowned myself in scotch and called it a night. Where do all these stupid people get off?

  12. Re:Avatar did not address the uncanny valley by Howitzer86 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I agree, however, some actors can be reproduced. A CGI version of Keanu Reeves (such as the one created almost 10 years ago), would never be noticed as odd, unsettling, or surreal.

    - because he already looks that way.

  13. Re:Avatar did not address the uncanny valley by wisty · · Score: 3, Funny

    Movies have lots of tricks to make the shots look "real", and CGI plays catch-up a bit. Remember that scene in Starlight Express, where the two kids looked cross-eyed when they stared at each other? No "grabber".

    Or Radioactive Man:

    Martin Prince: Uh, sir, why don't you just use real cows?

    Painter: Cows don't look like cows on film. You got to use horses.

    Ralph Wiggum: What do you do if you want something that looks like a horse?

    Painter: Usually we just tape a bunch of cats together.