New rumors are suggesting that CGI will finish Ledger’s work in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and not Mr. Johnny Depp! We get the scoop from the WEBMASTER at Filmjunk:
Initial reports stated that Johnny Depp may be brought on board to replace Ledger. Since the movie involved a character falling through a mirror into an alternate world, it was thought that maybe they could keep Ledger’s performance in the real world, but substitute a different actor for his character in the alternate world. However, according to Christopher Plummer, who plays Doctor Parnassus, Terry Gilliam is currently seeking out a way to use CGI to keep all of Ledger’s scenes in the picture.
Well early on we guessed that this could be a possibility. To pull it off will take a work of animation ingenuity the likes of which – we have yet to see. We will also need a voice actor that is gifted in the art of mimicry akin to the Terminator. IF they can pull this off – the film will be championed as a crowning achievement, if not – it will come off as incredibly awkward. This is certainly a brave road they are taking, (if they are taking it) and I must admit – I am very curious to see how it turns out. Will they use traditional CGI or motion capture? I am curious about and I am certain these details will filter down soon if this news be true.
This raises another question for me. If they are able to make animation so lifelike that it appears to be the “real deal”, will we see virtual actors in the future? If you can build up a character the way you want them to; then get the best voice talent available, I think you could have a fantastic marriage that could lend itself to some interesting projects. If you were to do this, you would have to go all out. When you have a mix of humans and CGI characters, the flesh and blood characters usually give wooden performances.
This film sounds cool, and it is a shame on many levels that it is not going to be made the way it was intended. I cannot even imagine the stress that Gilliam and crew are going through. We will continue to report news of this project, and I follow the news personally with great interest.
