Interesting convo on Mastodon regarding Peter Cushing, deepfakes, and Disney. Simply put, we’re all better off if we calm down. Peter Cushing’s likeness in Rogue One was – whether you like deepfakes or Disney or not – legal. It was *legal*. Xatakaon’s take on this was ill-put, but maybe that was the point to begin with.
The details:
- Disney used a digital version of Peter Cushing to play the character of Grand Moff Tarkin. Disney claims that it had reached an agreement with Cushing’s agent for $36,000 and, therefore, was supposedly not obligated to seek further permission.
- Producer Kevin Francis, who was a friend of Cushing, claimed that the actor had said he didn’t want to have his likeness digitally recreated without his explicit permission before he died in 1994.
- No documents signed by the actor opposing the use of digital recreations exist, only the word of his producer friend.
Order up for a Nothingburger and some French cries when Kevin Francis is presented with a counter-claim from Disney for court costs from this waste of jurisprudence. The main point of interest – as a scifi creator in 2024 – is as follows:
- These types of lawsuits will become more frequent as the entertainment industry explores AI, intellectual property, and individual personhood.
- Arguing about legal minutae while larger issues of scifi social dynamics are the equivalent of tightening our grip while ‘more star systems slip through our fingers.’ We have better things to do and better people to do them with than this clickbait outrage-o-rama.
- Wacky conspiracy theory: What if Disney wanted all this to happen? Think about it – you’re Disney and you want to get ahead of these types of intellectual property issues. What better way than to start it off with an obvious loser case that enables you and your $2500/hr legal team to create legal precedent? Fun fact – the best way to disable a nuclear weapon is by destorying it with a smaller explosive. Perhaps this is a deepDisneystate move to defuse larger bombs through an otherwise unnecessary lawsuit?
Do I believe #3? Honestly, not really – it’s a bit of fun to make the point that anyone can create controversy, which is why we wield the power of trust and transaparency with care.
We discussed the matter in detail on Mastodon and Brian Grinter made some good points. I’ll let you review them at your convenience. Mr. Francis – a somewhat undersuccessful producer – should have thought this through before getting into the ring with the Mouse. It won’t end well for him – and I suspect the rest of his professional career will be an example of what *NOT* to do.
Just some thoughts from a ringside observer – please enjoy your weekend.
