Avatar and Digital Emily are the reasons why I’m so confident. Digital actors in Avatar are very impressive, and as a (former) CG nerd I do think that Avatar has crossed the valley—or at least found the way across it—I just don’t think that this is proof enough for general audience and critics.
I think before the critics will be satisfied, one would have to make an entirely CGI film that wasn’t Sci Fi, or fantastic in its setting or characters.
Something like a Western that had Clint Eastwood & Lee Van Cleef from their Sergio Leone Glory Days, alongside modern day Western Stars like Christian Bale, or.. That Australian Guy who was in 3:10 to Yuma. If we were to see CGI Movies, such as I mentioned, with the Avatar tech (or Digital Emily), then I am sure the critics and public would sit up and take notice (and immediately launch into how it was really not CGI at all, but really a conspiracy to hide immortality technology from the greater public).
I think before the critics will be satisfied, one would have to make an entirely CGI film that wasn’t Sci Fi, or fantastic in its setting or characters.
Exactly. I was thinking about something like an Elvis Presley biopic, but your example will do just fine (except that I don’t think that vanilla westerns are commercially viable today).
Vanilla Westerns?!? There is Nothing Vanilla about a Sergio Leone Western! And Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven was an awesome western, as were Silverado and 3:10 to Yuma (and there are even more that have made a fair killing at the box office).
Westerns are not usually thought of as Block-Busters though, but they do draw a big enough crowd to be profitable.
If one were to draw together Lee Van cleef, Clint Eastwood, and Eli Wallach from their Sergio Leone days together with some of the Big names in Action flics today to make a period western that starred all of these people… I think you’d have a near Block-Buster...
However, the point is really that using this technology one would be able to draw upon stage or film actors of any period or genre (where we had a decent image and voice recording) and to be able to mix actors of the past with those of today.
I just happen to have a passion for a decent Horse Opera. Pity that Firefly was such crap… decent Horse Opera is really no different from a decent Space Opera. Something like Trigun or Cowboy Bebop
Is there a reason Avatar doesn’t count as crossing the threshold already?
Because the giant blue Na’vi people are not human.
You mean you didn’t notice the shots with the simulated humans in Avatar? ;-)
Avatar and Digital Emily are the reasons why I’m so confident. Digital actors in Avatar are very impressive, and as a (former) CG nerd I do think that Avatar has crossed the valley—or at least found the way across it—I just don’t think that this is proof enough for general audience and critics.
I think before the critics will be satisfied, one would have to make an entirely CGI film that wasn’t Sci Fi, or fantastic in its setting or characters.
Something like a Western that had Clint Eastwood & Lee Van Cleef from their Sergio Leone Glory Days, alongside modern day Western Stars like Christian Bale, or.. That Australian Guy who was in 3:10 to Yuma. If we were to see CGI Movies, such as I mentioned, with the Avatar tech (or Digital Emily), then I am sure the critics and public would sit up and take notice (and immediately launch into how it was really not CGI at all, but really a conspiracy to hide immortality technology from the greater public).
Exactly. I was thinking about something like an Elvis Presley biopic, but your example will do just fine (except that I don’t think that vanilla westerns are commercially viable today).
Vanilla Westerns?!? There is Nothing Vanilla about a Sergio Leone Western! And Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven was an awesome western, as were Silverado and 3:10 to Yuma (and there are even more that have made a fair killing at the box office).
Westerns are not usually thought of as Block-Busters though, but they do draw a big enough crowd to be profitable.
If one were to draw together Lee Van cleef, Clint Eastwood, and Eli Wallach from their Sergio Leone days together with some of the Big names in Action flics today to make a period western that starred all of these people… I think you’d have a near Block-Buster...
However, the point is really that using this technology one would be able to draw upon stage or film actors of any period or genre (where we had a decent image and voice recording) and to be able to mix actors of the past with those of today.
I just happen to have a passion for a decent Horse Opera. Pity that Firefly was such crap… decent Horse Opera is really no different from a decent Space Opera. Something like Trigun or Cowboy Bebop