Technology Allows Actors To Get Paid Not To Work?

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This article about the new Tron movie brings up a very interesting point about the impact technology is having on the movie industry. Read this quote from Jeff Bridges and let it sink in:

‘This technology means I’d never have to work again in my life and I could still make films. I can say, “I’ll lease you my image.” Visual-effects supervisor Eric Barba said “He’s the first actor in cinematic history to play opposite a younger version of himself.”
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That was actually a really good article. Its nice that some journalists don't compromise on quality just because something is posted on the internet. Journalism has taken a serious nose-dive.

This technology is cool but at the same time it has the potential to put so many actor out of work that in th future they wont have that standout actor that draws in the crowds. Call me old-fashioned but I like the movies that are made the old fashioned way versus the 100% CGI movies made nowadays.
 
I had to bust out the laserdisc of tron when they announced the sequel. Still plays good, player needed a good cleaning though.
 
Does that mean they could make it so Tom Cruise, Megan Fox and Sandra Bullock and company can actually act in a belieable way? This means there might be good acting from holllwood once more!
 
DeathPrincess said:
Does that mean they could make it so Tom Cruise, Megan Fox and Sandra Bullock and company can actually act in a belieable way? This means there might be good acting from holllwood once more!
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Not a snowball's chance in hell.
 
First, he's not acting with a version of himself minus thirty years, it's a computer program. It's like talking to Max Headroom.

Isn't this just refreshing a well-worn idea?

Beowulf already had a full movie hinging on CG transforming an older actor to a younger, more flawless character. Jon Hamm can play Superman if they do a touch-up.

And I'm pretty sure if people can accept the main character becoming a wolf every full moon, they can accept the age difference (visually). It just looks prettier. And the Final Fantasy movie had pretty realistic faces 9 years ago.
 
If you've seen the previews you know that the CG Bridges still has a sharp uncanny valley effect in spite of all the praise Hollywood talking heads are heaping on this technology. I personally hope this movie tanks hard, but it's got that weird feeling like Avatar did.... that of a movie that is total shit but is going to make a billion dollars anyway.
 
It's pretty cool what they can do now. I think I'm getting old though >_< I kinda miss the hocus pocus they used to use for special effects (but stuff like what they did with Tron seems really cool, I just hope the plot holds :D
 
Skip_ray said:
It's pretty cool what they can do now. I think I'm getting old though >_< I kinda miss the hocus pocus they used to use for special effects (but stuff like what they did with Tron seems really cool, I just hope the plot holds :D
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You don't need to worry about that. Avatar was a remake of Dances With Wolves starring blue fuzzy people with amazing CGI effects- it's guaranteed to cross multiple genre barriers and generate massive revenues, just like similar fantasy/scifi adventure "crossovers" like Star Wars.

Tron is unlikely to be such a crossover production, unless they completely ditch the concepts laid-down in the first movie. Tron was a theater disappointment, barely making back production costs on it's first run, so I'm not expecting anything amazing from this one.
 
Quoted wrong post above. My reply above was in-response to this:

If you've seen the previews you know that the CG Bridges still has a sharp uncanny valley effect in spite of all the praise Hollywood talking heads are heaping on this technology. I personally hope this movie tanks hard, but it's got that weird feeling like Avatar did.... that of a movie that is total shit but is going to make a billion dollars anyway.
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Sabrewulf165 said:
If you've seen the previews you know that the CG Bridges still has a sharp uncanny valley effect in spite of all the praise Hollywood talking heads are heaping on this technology. I personally hope this movie tanks hard, but it's got that weird feeling like Avatar did.... that of a movie that is total shit but is going to make a billion dollars anyway.
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I loved the original and hope this movie is a good sequel. I'll be in line to see it day one.
 
As it stands "actors" already got a huge handout when all these animated films came along, now everyone needs to have some famous named actors because they're the only ones who can speak like the character should talk... (I mean Donkey was a completely new range for Eddie Murphy!)

</sarcasm>
 
sfsuphysics said:
...now everyone needs to have some famous named actors because they're the only ones who can speak like the character should talk... (I mean Donkey was a completely new range for Eddie Murphy!)
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Love it or hate it, big names fill seats. A-lists make what studios are willing to pay, and they're willing to pay because big names+big marketing=big money (typically). It's just an investment for studios — one that typically pays off.
 
DeathPrincess said:
Does that mean they could make it so Tom Cruise, Megan Fox and Sandra Bullock and company can actually act in a belieable way? This means there might be good acting from holllwood once more!
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On a technological level yes, unfortunately their contracts have clauses preventing this from happening.
 
Even when it's a cartoon, the actors still matter (to the studio's anyway), otherwise they could have used anyone for the voices in "The Last Unicorn" (Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow and Angela Lansbury)

The box design makes a big deal about voice actors, in a genre where the voice actors are usually unmentioned (atleast on the cover anyway)
Having watched this movie a month ago (with my roomate's 5 year-old daughter), and knowing about these "star voices" before-hand, I still couldn't tell which character was voiced by who

the-last-unicorn.jpg


(BTW, It's a coincidence that I picked this particular movie, I forgot Jeff Bridges was in it until I looked it up on IMDb just now)
 
Actors getting paid not to work has been around for a while now... it's called "voice overs". I never will understand why they pay these high dollar actors to be a cartoons voice.
 
I personally can't wait to see long dead actors appearing in new movies.

Although the graphics may be getting there, I don't think computer voices sound like a real person. Any new realistic tech in the audio department?
 
Has anyone really been far as decided to use even go want to do look more like?
 
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