Ziad Shihab

The memory of perfection: Digital faces and nostalgic franchise cinema - Dan Golding, 2021

by Ziad Shihab/ August 4th, 2021

This article is concerned with the intersection of digitally augmented performance and nostalgia in contemporary Hollywood franchise cinema.

The practice of 'de-ageing' or even resurrecting actors following their real-life deaths in films like Tron: Legacy (Joseph Kosinski, 2010), Terminator Genysis (Alan Taylor, 2015), Rogue One (Gareth Edwards, 2016), Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019), and a large number of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, is now commonplace. Though such digital faces are primarily still found in franchise cinema, some exceptions ( The Irishman , Martin Scorsese, 2019; Gemini Man , Ang Lee, 2019) are telling in their franchise-like appeals to cinematic nostalgia. In particular, the digital face is most commonly aligned with the 'legacy film' (Golding, 2019), resurrected franchises interested in transferring franchise protagonists, themes and fandom across generations.

The digital face therefore is an expression of the convergence of the digital with film, with the franchise, with the past and with memory. For these films, memory and nostalgia are meticulous exercises involving thousands of work hours of highly skilled CGI workers and cutting-edge technology. These highly technical, virtuosic digital faces are quite literally the face of this kind of nostalgia, and as Ndalianis observes, position the face 'as façade that opens up a time-travel passageway between past and present', inviting a seam-spotting game between audience and filmmaker (2014).

Even if the digital face is perfect in its recreation, the audience's knowledge of the impossibility of the performance leaves a trace of artistry. Accordingly, digital faces are creative, technical and financial decisions above all.

This article outlines the uses of the digital face for memory, nostalgia and seriality in contemporary Hollywood franchise cinema, with a focus on representation and death.


The memory of perfection: Digital faces and nostalgic franchise cinema

First Published July 28, 2021 Research Article

Abstract

This article is concerned with the intersection of digitally augmented performance and nostalgia in contemporary Hollywood franchise cinema. The practice of ‘de-ageing’ or even resurrecting actors following their real-life deaths in films like Tron: Legacy (Joseph Kosinski, 2010), Terminator Genysis (Alan Taylor, 2015), Rogue One (Gareth Edwards, 2016), Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019), and a large number of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, is now commonplace. Though such digital faces are primarily still found in franchise cinema, some exceptions (The Irishman, Martin Scorsese, 2019; Gemini Man, Ang Lee, 2019) are telling in their franchise-like appeals to cinematic nostalgia. In particular, the digital face is most commonly aligned with the ‘legacy film’ (Golding, 2019), resurrected franchises interested in transferring franchise protagonists, themes and fandom across generations. The digital face therefore is an expression of the convergence of the digital with film, with the franchise, with the past and with memory. For these films, memory and nostalgia are meticulous exercises involving thousands of work hours of highly skilled CGI workers and cutting-edge technology. These highly technical, virtuosic digital faces are quite literally the face of this kind of nostalgia, and as Ndalianis observes, position the face ‘as façade that opens up a time-travel passageway between past and present’, inviting a seam-spotting game between audience and filmmaker (2014). Even if the digital face is perfect in its recreation, the audience’s knowledge of the impossibility of the performance leaves a trace of artistry. Accordingly, digital faces are creative, technical and financial decisions above all. This article outlines the uses of the digital face for memory, nostalgia and seriality in contemporary Hollywood franchise cinema, with a focus on representation and death.

Access Options

My Account

Email (required):
Password (required):
Remember me

Institutional Login

If you have access to journal content via a university, library or employer, sign in here

Purchase Content

24 hours online access to download content

Article $37.50
Rent with DeepDyve

Research off-campus without worrying about access issues. Find out about Lean Library here

Albarrán-Torres, CA, Golding, D (2019) Creed: legacy franchising, race and masculinity in contemporary boxing films. Continuum 33(3): 310–323.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Balázs, B (1970) Theory of the Film: Character and Growth of a New Art. New York: Dover Publications.
Google Scholar|
Barnhardt, A (2019) Avengers: Endgame actors were de-aged even for 2012 scenes. Comicbook.com, 25 May. https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/avengers-endgame-de-aged-characters-for-2012-scenes/.
Google Scholar|
Bazin, A, Gray, H (1960) The ontology of the photographic image. Film Quarterly 13(4): 4–9.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Benjamin, W (1969) The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. In: Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books, 220–234.
Google Scholar|
Bode, L (2017) Making Believe: Screen Performance and Special Effects in Popular Culture. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Boym, S (2001) The Future of Nostalgia. New York: Basic Books.
Google Scholar|
Burgess, J, Mitchell, P, Münch, FV (2018) Social media rituals: the uses of celebrity death in digital culture. In: Papacharissi, Z (ed) A Networked Self and Birth, Life, Death. New York: Routledge, 224–239.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Child, B (2015) Carrie Fisher: I felt pressured to lose weight for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Guardian, 1 December. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/01/carrie-fisher-weight-loss-star-wars-the-force-awakens.
Google Scholar|
Colker, D (2015) Blaine Gibson dies at 97; prominent sculptor, animator at Disney. Los Angeles Times, 8 July. https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-blaine-gibson-20150709-story.html.
Google Scholar|
Davis, E (2017) ‘Rogue One’ Director Gareth Edwards explains why Carrie Fisher didn’t believe her own Cameo. Fandango, 15 March. https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/rogue-one-director-gareth-edwards-explains-why-carrie-fisher-didnt-believe-her-own-cameo-752037.
Google Scholar|
Davis, T (2004) The Face on Screen: Death, Recognition, and Spectatorship. Bristol: Intellect.
Google Scholar|
Drury, S (2019) Chris Evans, Elijah Wood and More Criticize James Dean CGI Casting: "This Shouldn’t Be a Thing". The Hollywood Reporter, 11 June. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chris-evans-elijah-wood-more-criticize-james-dean-cgi-casting-shouldnt-be-a-thing-1253004.
Google Scholar|
Empire Staff (2012) The Making of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Empire, 8 October. https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/indiana-jones-making-crystall-skull/.
Google Scholar|
Fisher, C (2009) Wishful Drinking. London: Pocket Books.
Google Scholar|
Giardina, C (2019) ‘Avengers: Endgame’ contains 200 aging and de-aging VFX shots. The Hollywood Reporter, 29 July. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/avengers-endgame-200-aging-de-aging-vfx-shots-1227747.
Google Scholar|
Goldberg, M (2016) ‘Rogue one’: the problem with that CGI character. Collider, 16 December. http://collider.com/rogue-one-cgi-grand-moff-tarkin/.
Google Scholar|
Golding, D (2019) Star Wars after Lucas: A Critical Guide to the Future of the Galaxy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Itzkoff, D (2016) How "Rogue One" brought back familiar faces. New York Times, 27 December. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/movies/how-rogue-one-brought-back-grand-moff-tarkin.html.
Google Scholar|
Jameson, F (1988) Postmodernism and consumer society. In: Gray, A, McGuigan, J (eds) Studies in Culture: An Introductory Reader. London: Arnold, 192–205.
Google Scholar|
Jimmy Kimmel Live (2018) The cast of star wars: the last Jedi talk Cliffhanger scene and Luke Skywalker’s beard. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUKhUahlDhA (accessed 10 January 2021).
Google Scholar|
Klein, N (2004) The Vatican to Vegas: The History of Special Effects. New York: The New Press.
Google Scholar|
Loock, K, Verevis, C (2012) Introduction: remake | Remodel. In: Loock, K, Verevis, C (eds) Film Remakes, Adaptations and Fan Productions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1–15.
Google Scholar|
Miller, LS (2019) So, who’s really under the Mandalorian’s helmet? Vulture, 9 December. https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/the-mandalorian-pedro-pascal-double-stunt-performer.html.
Google Scholar|
Mori, M (2010) The uncanny valley: the original essay by Masahiro Mori. IEEE Spectrum, 12 June. https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/the-uncanny-valley.
Google Scholar|
Ndalianis, A (2004) Neo Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Ndalianis, A (2014) Baroque Facades, Jeff Bridges’ Face and Tron: Legacy. In: Rehak, B, North, D (eds). Special Effects. London: Palgrave/BFI, 154–165.
Google Scholar|
North, D (2008) Performing Illusions: Cinema, Special Effects and the Virtual Actor. London and New York: Wallflower Press.
Google Scholar|
Pulver, A (2017) Rogue One VFX head: ‘We didn’t do anything Peter Cushing would’ve objected to. The Guardian, 17 January. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/16/rogue-one-vfx-jon-knoll-peter-cushing-ethics-of-digital-resurrections.
Google Scholar|
Rogers, A (2015) The force will be with us, always, Wired, 11 December. https://www.wired.com/2015/11/building-the-star-wars-universe/.
Google Scholar|
Sargeant, A (2017) The undeath of cinema: why digital resurrection is so creepy — and how it’s hastening hollywood’s decline into a soulless factory. The New Atlantis 53: 17–32.
Google Scholar|
Shelley, M (2003) Frankenstein. London: Penguin.
Google Scholar|
Tapley, K, Debruge, P (2016) ‘Rogue One’: what Peter Cushing’s digital resurrection means for the industry. Variety, 16 December. https://variety.com/2016/film/news/rogue-one-peter-cushing-digital-resurrection-cgi-1201943759/.
Google Scholar|
van der Nagel, E (2020) Verifying images: Deepfakes, control, and consent. Porn Studies 7(4): 424–429.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Verevis, C (2005) Film Remakes. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
Rettberg, JW (2014) Filtered Reality. In: Seeing Ourselves through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 20–32.
Google Scholar | Crossref|
West, NM (2000) Kodak and the Lens of Nostalgia. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
Google Scholar|
White, A (2013). Cinema is about humanity, not fireballs. New York Times, 13 June. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/03/07/are-digital-effects-cgi-ruining-the-movies/cinema-is-about-humanity-not-fireballs.
Google Scholar|
Yang, R (2021) Mark Hamill thanks the Mandalorian finale director for revisiting Luke as ‘symbol of hope'. Entertainment Weekly, 17 January. https://ew.com/tv/mark-hamill-thanks-mandalorian-finale-director-revisiting-luke/.
Google Scholar|

References