Actor Bruce Willis, who announced his retirement last April, should however continue to shoot films. All without setting foot on a film set.
The action star has announced that he has sold his image rights to DeepCake, an American deepfake company. Convinced after this technology was used to make him appear in an advertisement, the actor explained that it offered great prospects for the future.
Deepfake technology is already used in the cinema
Deepfake technology is not exactly new. This technique uses artificial intelligence to superimpose an image, usually a face, onto video in an extremely realistic way. Its rise and its irruption in the public debate several years ago have initially created many concerns, in particular about the use that could be made of it for the purpose of misinformation. This problem is still not solved in 2022, as proved by a video broadcast last March, showing Ukrainian President Zelensky announcing his capitulation in a televised address.
But this is not the only use that can be made of it and the film industry has understood this well. Disney has used this technology in particular to display rejuvenated versions of certain actors or to bring back actors who unfortunately died on the screen, like Carrie Fischer in the saga. Star Wars. Bruce Willis, whose entourage announced at the beginning of the year that he had aphasia, an affliction causing language and comprehension disorders, therefore decided in turn to embark on deepfakes.
A first for a living actor
The company DeepCake, which has therefore recovered the image rights of Willis, offers film studios to integrate the face and expressions of an actor for a fraction of what his fee would have been if he actually went to the set. The company explains that this also allows production companies to save on many other costs, such as plane tickets or hotel nights.
Bruce Willis is currently the first personality to sell his rights for such a purpose. And if his personal situation can justify it, he puts his foot in the door of a system which is only in its infancy but which raises ethical questions. The case of dead actors who continue to appear in films, in particular, raises questions: to what extent do they own their bodies? And will still-living actors still find work in the future if digital clones are available for much less?
In any case, the adoption of deepfakes by Hollywood is further proof that AI can disrupt all professions, whether creative or artistic.
Source : Collider, Telegram, The Inrocks
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