What would the story for this be? Can people own rights for dead people or what? Or can you make cg actors and do what you want?- - Would it be a family issue?
No disrespect intended
Matt
(ooooh poll options)
wouldn’t be wrong as long as the family of the deceased OKed it…but if your going to make a CG person, why not make somebody that dosn’t exist? It’s more interesting that way 
I’ve only tried to model Audrey Tautou (“Amelie”), though I’d like to model Elisha Cuthbert (Kim on “24”) or the Franka girl from “Run Lola Run.” (SCREEAAAAAMMMM!!! glass breaks That was a cool movie!) None of them are dead, though.
It depends on what you want to do with them. I doubt that their remains are public domain (eeww), but if you want to model the person for fun, I don’t think they’d have a problem. Using them in a commercial project, though, might be a different story.
The actresses I want to model are just in my mind for fun, though if they look NOTHING like the original pictures, I guess I could use them for whatever (though I’d probably thank them and explain why).
PS: I think TBS owns the rights to do anything they want with Bruce Lee’s likeness. Since they are a huge corporation, don’t bet your life on getting the rights. (Greta Garbo, though… I don’t know if she has any relatives, so that might be interesting.)
Well I’m at design school and I’m planning ahead- for scriptwriting I’m writing three shortfilms - which will be difficult. I have ideas set for the two of them which I intend to make- develop, start on blah blah. One fully animated the other an abstract futuristic one—
Not like I have to make them =------- but I have a few years so it could be cool.
The reason I’m asking is one idea I had was of this social recluse who falls in love with a dead movie star— a tragedy. All in his head if you get what I mean----- really heart felt— . She isn’t going to be a huge part of it though--------- the angel that meets him as he dies maybe----- any ideas?
I started my first 3d head of Audrey Hepburn – I don’t have a website so I can’t post it----- But I wouldn’t mind getting feed back so if I could e-mail it that would be a real help-- just the modelling at the moment – thanks if you can. - - If I do push it further I’ll probably be doing it in maya------- but blender has been my starter–
so if you could pm your email that would be sweet. anyone
Miff: You can use S2002’s forums, where you can upload anything that it supports and is less than 15 megs. I use it all the time. Thanks again, Stephen2002!
They did this in Gladiator. The guy that give’s Maximus his freedom died in halfway through so they used a really good loking 3d model of him.
Interesting subject.
VK, you’re example isn’t quite the same, considering that while the deceased was alive, he contracted for that role in that film.
Frankly, I’m not yet sure that there are really any laws reguarding this yet. We’re just now getting to the point where dead persons can be realistically “cast” by artists in this way. There are some situations that have occurred which are similar. Consider the dead presidents who appeared in Forrest Gump, or the beer commercials that featured the Duke (John Wayne), or the communications company commercial with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Those were still different though, because artists were using footage shot while the personalities were alive, so it’s a simple copyright issue of who owns that footage.
Back to the issue, legally. Copyright laws wouldn’t apply here, because a real person’s likeness isn’t something which could be copyritten (though pictures and film of them are… but in this case, you’re not using those). Same goes for patents. One recent trend is of people trademarking themselves. This is going beyond just trademarking your name when you’re selling a product with it (such as “Eddie Bauer”, or “Tommy Hilfiger”), but people (usually performers) trademarking their names at least, and I think their likenesses as well. These trademarks could apply, and could be passed along. Also, trademarks don’t necessarily expire like copyrights and patents do (or, ahem… are SUPPOSED to). The “IBM” logo is a trademark of International Business Machines, but I don’t know how long they’ve been using it (at least 20 years). The company I think has used that name over 100 years, and hypothetically if they had that logo then, it’s still good now, and could be 500 years from now. I do think perhaps a trademark could expire if you don’t use it, but so long as someone were passed a person’s trademark, and used it for business in some way or another, theoretically that likeness could be trademarked forever.
Of course, you never can tell when they’ll pass new laws about this type of stuff, or even whether the government will follow it’s own rules (ahem, “Mickey Mouse”, ahem).
Anyhow… morally? All depends on the situation. Even if there were no family to object, would it be moral to create a “Rita Hayworth” to use in a porn? (I’m just assuming she’s dead… don’t know for sure).
Imp
I’ve seen Audrey Hepburn in advertisements – one a perfume the other a watch. – I think she was advertising them before she died though.
Yeah well I’m slowly working through it-- I’ll post her when it looks more like her- needs a lot of refining. ---- anyone done a realistice head in blender?
I’m quite sure you can use anyone’s likeness, but perhaps not their names. Although, I must admit, I’m sure South Park doesn’t have approval for many of their famous inserts of celebrities. Also, look at all the people in Vegas who do impersonations??? I certainly wouldn’t think your project would be given a second thought regarding that.
Then again, I’m not a lawyer ;oP
Love Ingie
It’s not a bad thing, I think it actually celebrates the actors life as opposed to offending anyone. I heard a while back that a new movie featuring an all cg Bruce Lee was in the works. They of course got family consent.
Rita Hayworth is dead, IMP. Having sex with her is… well… unless you’re in the 1930’s or something… ewww.
Actually, I hate “South Park,” so I wouldn’t know how they treat the celebrities. But on “Clerks,” they had Gilbert Godfried (screechy-voiced guy) impersonating Patrick Sawyze, and they did get permission, I think, though they were in some trouble for portraying him in a negative light. (He was working in a pet store, acting like he’s filming a movie in the back room, though he’s obviously not and he’s just working in the pet store.)
My point being, you may not want to have any bad opinions about the dead actress. In the same episode of “Clerks,” they had the mayor & police chief appear… dressed up like the McDonald’s mayor and police cheif. They managed to get permission by sucking up: The plot was about a fake virus (a guy eats old burritos, one clerk thinks it’s Mutaba from “Outbreak,” and they get locked in a bubble), and one guy asks the chief, “Will this virus kill the Grimace?” The reply (which they used to suck up to McDonald’s): “NOTHING can kill the Grimace.”
Watch “Clerks.” It’s pretty funny, and you might find out some things about celeb-impersonation with commentary on. (Watch the whole show first. Don’t worry–without and with commentary altogether, it’ll only take 6 hours since there were 6 half-hour episodes. Call it “research.”)
Point: If you don’t get the rights, don’t portray the actress badly. Just use her as an icon or something. The angel thing seems alright.
Well… I would think you’d create the CG character in her likeness when she was a hottie… think the poster in Shawshank (as I recall, one of your favorites). Of course… it’d be a CG porno… so who’d be having sex with her??
Imp
id say, its more like a tribute…