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Step into the world of Hollywood’s de-aging technology, where classic stars get a digital facelift to stay forever young on screen. We explore how CGI effects transform actors, the balance between nostalgia and authenticity, and the ethical questions behind this new visual revolution in cinema. From Marvel to “The Irishman,” this video unveils the impact and future of keeping silver screen legends ageless.
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00:00what if you could be eternal right now this instant welcome to ms mojo and today we're
00:06doing a deep dive into the impact of de-aging technology on the film industry we'll be
00:12discussing the benefits and limitations of keeping hollywood's old guard in the spotlight for longer
00:18and how this is changing the landscape of cinema i remember her just an idea of what's possible
00:24hollywood began to experiment with computer generated imagery as early as the 1940s however
00:31it wasn't until the 90s and early 2000s that cgi as we think of it today became such an integral
00:38part of the film industry help
00:42de-aging technology is a relatively new visual effects technique in which the image of an actor
00:55is digitally edited or touched up to make them appear younger sometimes with the help of stand-ins
01:01occasionally the image is even created from scratch
01:04the first notable use of digital de-aging was in the opening sequence of x-men the last stand
01:17released in 2006 since then the technique has mostly been employed for short flashback scenes
01:23however in the last decade it's been cropping up more and more with the marvel cinematic universe
01:29continuing to lead the charge hello peter hi do we do i know you so what are the pros consistency and
01:39accuracy in the past time jumps in films have usually been dealt with in one of two ways the characters
01:45are aged up or down using makeup or they're played by more than one actor makeup and prosthetics can be
01:52very convincing when aging up but aging down is more of a challenge instant eye lift wow
02:00and you'll never see the strings that'll be under the wig the man has five o'clock shadow at 8 30 am
02:05and you're worried about strings it's often easier to go with a younger actor but this can be jarring for
02:11an audience especially when we're dealing with a big star for example we know exactly what bruce willis
02:17looked like as a young man so we'd know he looked nothing like joseph gordon levitt i listen i know
02:24this is a hard situation for you but we both know how this has to go down i can't let you walk away
02:29from this diner alive this is my life now i earned it you had yours already so why don't you do what
02:35old men do and die in looper prosthetics were used to subtly change gordon levitt's appearance but as
02:42visual effects technology becomes more advanced it's natural for filmmakers to want the younger
02:47versions of their characters to resemble their leading actors as much as possible for a short
02:53scene in particular de-aging technology when done well can provide consistency and prevent confusion
03:01well i don't know what you're talking about but i like the way you say it
03:04oh my heart is yours meredith quill helping improve and better the technology okay back in x-men days
03:13we might not have been quite so convinced but the more de-aging technology is used and developed
03:19the better it's going to get i'm sorry i don't know what i'm doing here
03:34nothing lasts for the curious case of benjamin button in 2008 the digital effects team aged up brad pitt
03:41using the mova camera system to log his facial expressions and rebuild them into a new older face
03:48for 2019's gemini man will smith was aged down using facial recognition technology merged with
03:54data from his performance in the fresh prince of bel-air your father took my blood and he cloned me
04:01he made you from me our dna is identical there are still some issues to iron out but soon we might not
04:09even be able to tell the difference between old footage of a star in their youth and a digitally
04:14altered image it may be unnerving but it's still exciting to see the technology progress you're the
04:20girl from the picture i mean i do have a name the fun nostalgia factor for now we're enjoying the
04:28de-aging thing mostly as a gimmick because of course it's fun to see our favorite stars return to
04:33their youth tell me that isn't what i think it is that depends if you think it's a poor attempt to
04:38replicate my work even for this group i takes nerve the brief appearance of a young michael douglas in
04:46ant-man had filmed fans feeling nostalgic as did the digitally de-aged face of johnny depp in dead man
04:53tell no tales the actors themselves have been known to enjoy it too samuel l jackson took to social media
04:59to share his thoughts on his new look in captain marvel saying wow this marvel de-aging thing is doper
05:06than i thought name a detail so bizarre a scroll could never fabricate it
05:13a toast is cut diagonally i can't eat it
05:18you didn't need that did you no no i didn't but i enjoyed it but what's the flip side the tech can't
05:24really turn back the clock so yes jackson is right digital de-aging does look pretty dope but it
05:31definitely has its limitations now a warning now a warning take care of yourself there's more to
05:40turning back the clock then smoothing out a few forehead wrinkles and there are other ways an
05:45aging actor can give themselves away take the most recent indiana jones as an example what did you come
05:51for me for him you got a lot of nice stuff other people's stuff ford may look like a young indy but
06:00he still sounds and moves like an 80 year old man in a short flashback scene this may be barely
06:06noticeable but the intro to dial of destiny is 25 minutes long long enough for the cracks to begin to
06:13show come on i can't do that you want to stop for a little eye down for the 2019 film the irishman
06:21visual effects supervisor pablo hellman spent two years developing new technology that would allow him
06:27to de-age a cast of elderly stars without using motion capture headgear or facial tracking dots
06:33de niro and al pacino do look younger facially but even actors of this caliber are going to find it
06:40difficult to recreate the physicality and movement of a young man once they've passed the age of 70.
06:46you got a problem you pull me aside you don't insult me then you say it didn't apply to me how am i
06:51gonna put your sight i didn't even see you there oh come on frank you know me better than that even
06:56when the age gap is much smaller physical differences can come into play for peter jackson's
07:02hobbit trilogy orlando bloom returned as legolas no one enters this kingdom and no one leaves it
07:10as elves are immortal and the hobbit takes place decades before the lord of the rings bloom was de-aged
07:24for consistency his face in the later trilogy is therefore just as smooth and elf-like but there's
07:30no hiding that he's still physically different a 30-something man not a boyish 20-something year old
07:36i cannot go back where will you go i do not know technology dates de-aging software continues to
07:47improve but the faster technology moves on the quicker early trials of the tech become dated cgi
07:54dates a film much quicker than practical effects or makeup and the first examples of de-aging are
08:00beginning to look amateurish now that we've seen better if we can already pinpoint the limitations of
08:05de-aging in certain movies how are those films going to hold up in a few years got it
08:13i expected more does the de-aging process sometimes go too far de-aging can also have
08:18negative effects on an actor's performance de-aged faces sometimes have an overly smooth
08:24animated quality to them and the natural movement of the face is altered did you think you were the
08:29only one of your kind young lady we're mutants gene an actor's facial expressions are important when
08:36the face is digitally modified even if it's just a little touch-up aspects of their performance may
08:41be lost nothing clean right nothing clean right i think this guy's a couple cans short of a six pack
08:49when discussing the de-aging technology used in his film the irishman with british director joanna hogg
08:55martin scorsese admitted his own concerns saying does it change the eyes at all if that's the case
09:02what was in the eyes that i liked was it intensity was it gravitas was it threat and then how do we
09:08get it back i don't know would you like to be a part of this history yes i would whatever you need me to
09:16do i'm available the ethical dilemma less opportunity for young actors as well as the
09:21practical limitations and impact on an actor's performance we also have to consider the ethical
09:27issues of de-aging when veteran stars like de niro and harrison ford are still taking the lead in big
09:33budget movies where does that leave the young and not so young up and comers i know what i have to do
09:38but i don't know if i have the strength to do it will you help me yes anything british actor stephen
09:49graham took his career to a new level with his role in the irishman but why not cast more relative newbies
09:55in key roles if they'd had the technology to de-age marlon brando for the godfather part 2 robert de
10:02de niro might not be the star he is today even a flashback scene or a small part as the younger
10:15version of a lead character can be a big opportunity for a young actor saoirse ronan was oscar nominated
10:21for her performance as young bryony in atonement more recently robert amoreo who played the young
10:27ned stark in game of thrones and young elrond in rings of power has taken the step up to big screen
10:34leading man it is said the wine of victory is sweetest for those in whose bitter trials it has
10:41fermented why not write age-appropriate roles for older actors with the decline of the mid-budget film
10:48and the changing habits of cinema goers there seem to be fewer movie stars among the younger generation of
10:54actors therefore old school big names with their proven talent and ability to pull in audiences
11:00remain a valuable commodity even into their later years why is that it's one of life's mysteries sir
11:08this isn't a joke i asked you a question i'm where i belong sir but what does the de-aging epidemic tell
11:17us about hollywood's attitude towards these mature movie stars so far de-aging technology has mostly been
11:23used for flashbacks as it gets better will we see more aging stars with digital facelifts shoved
11:29into leading roles written for much younger actors don't worry you're gonna love the holiday menu at
11:35the commissary you know they say sarcasm is a metric for potential if that's true you'll be a great man
11:40someday instead of finding ways to put elderly men or middle-aged female characters center stage will
11:46writers simply rely on de-aging to keep stars looking fresh-faced at the point at which they would
11:51traditionally begin to age out of the best roles do you believe how she looks how old is she 50 50
12:01you've got to be kidding i wonder what her secret is do we really need more airbrushing with the rise in
12:09the everyday use of social media filters photoshop and ai not to mention botox our perception of how people
12:16really look is becoming more and more warped i am after all merely a reflection of you well not an
12:23exact reflection i have no wrinkles
12:30they're not wrinkles just crinkles as you wish well what do you suggest i do the stars of the big screen
12:40are already kept preternaturally youthful by lifestyle plastic surgery personal trainers and
12:45good styling do we really need to add digital de-aging to all that we could also argue that even
12:52movie stars should be allowed to grow old gracefully and not be forced to disguise themselves beneath a
12:57digital mask of their own face from 20 years ago if my image i'm i'm sure somebody would pay me for it
13:04maybe what could be in store for the future the ethics become even murkier when tech is used to
13:11turn adults back into children or resurrects actors from the dead in series four of stranger things a
13:17younger version of 11 was created using a body double or virtual actor with millie bobby brown's
13:23face added on top in the post-production stages never mind how let me out i want out i'm sorry 11
13:33you'll have to find your own way out stranger still over in the star wars universe filmmakers made the
13:39unusual decision to have the deceased act alongside the living the late peter cushing was digitally
13:45recreated for rogue one in 2016 reprising his role from the original movie from 1977
13:52senate gets wind of our project countless systems will flock to the rebellion when the battle station
13:57is finished governor tarkin the senate will be of little concern when has become now director
14:04krennic the emperor will tolerate no further delay visual effects supervisor john noll told yahoo
14:10movies we weren't doing anything that i think peter cushing would have objected to but as the actor
14:16died in 1994 he couldn't exactly give his consent carrie fisher also appears in some scenes from 2019's
14:24the rise of skywalker which were filmed after she passed this was made possible using her daughter as
14:30a body double and unused footage shot for episode 7. i know it looks like it looks like i'm making excuses
14:38don't tell me what things look like tell me what they are in both cases the family gave permission
14:44and perhaps both actors would have approved the choice given the chance however the idea of having
14:49access to an actor's image when they no longer have any knowledge of or control over how it's used
14:55and distributed raises a lot of ethical questions princess leia like i'm supposed to go yes what do you do
15:04when people say that i think in in my mind uh yes no i you know i try not to respond as an adult
15:14alternatives to cgi aging makeup so now we come full circle to argue that cgid aging however useful
15:21or impressive is not always necessary the technology has been progressing in leaps and bounds but time
15:28hasn't stood still for other areas of the film industry either movie makeup for example is just
15:33getting better and better it's 503 and i want to stop are you sure once you stop you can't go back
15:44from dick van dyke in mary poppins to the parents in back to the future a wig and some skillfully
15:51applied prosthetics can be enough to create the desired aging effect when paired with an equally skilled
15:56actor mom dad did you hit your head you guys you guys look great mom you look so thin thank you marty
16:06as we said earlier aging down is trickier but it can often be achieved sufficiently with the subtle
16:12styling of makeup hair and clothes and if aging down is more difficult why not take a risk on new young
16:19stars and use makeup to add a few decades rather than trying to recapture the youth of an established
16:25talent who's ready to take on more mature roles such a special face beautiful
16:41casting different actors for different ages of course rather than trying to alter anyone's age you
16:46could just cast different actors this is exactly where we belong we've been here for years there
16:53have been bad examples of this of course but when the casting is spot on you get a real movie magic
16:59a digitally d-aged harrison ford is all very well but a young anthony ingruba in the age of adeline
17:07is pretty convincing too and that smile is so familiar that the nostalgia still hits just lose the
17:13break i'll give you a push you pop your clutch and you'll take off okay thank you he may not look
17:23exactly the same just like young scrooge in a muppets christmas carol looks different from a young
17:28michael caine or romula gari in atonement looks different from a young vanessa redgrave however
17:34sometimes you just have to sacrifice total accuracy for emotional authenticity it not only gives different
17:40act as a chance but we'd also argue that it produces better performances you said the
17:45partnership was the goal this is for you i love you bill before we continue be sure to subscribe to
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18:04switch on notifications conclusion so what do you think is digital de-aging a viable future or a
18:12slippery slope that erodes the authenticity of the movie industry and crosses lines into unethical territory
18:19i'm just trying to help hey when are you gonna tell her why all this is happening we'd argue that it's
18:27still fun for a flashback however the potential to preserve the stars in a perpetual state of youth and
18:33even keep their images alive to fill leading roles after death is more unnerving than entertaining
18:39we think jurassic park's ian malcolm may have said it best our scientists have done things which nobody's
18:45ever done before yeah yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could
18:49they didn't start to think if they should are you excited or unnerved by digital de-aging
18:54and what movie do you think did it best let us know in the comments
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