Last week, news broke that James Dean will star in a new movie-64 years after his death. A production company called Magic City got the rights to Dean’s image from the late actor’s estate and plans to bring him to the silver screen again thanks to the wonder (or terror) of CGI. Now, Dean, or the digitally resurrected version of Dean or whatever, will play the second lead in a Vietnam War movie called Finding Jack, with a living actor standing in as his voice.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement inspired a wave of immediate backlash around Hollywood.
Chris Evans called it “awful” and “shameful,” and Elijah Wood said, simply, “NOPE.” But it turns out the intense reaction was surprising to at least one person: Magic City’s Anton Ernst, the Finding Jack director.
Ernst told the Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that he’s gotten “positive feedback” about the movie and that the Dean estate has been “supportive,” saying it will inspire “a whole new generation of filmgoers to be aware of James Dean.” He didn’t see the overwhelming negativity coming. Per the Reporter:
Ernst spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the criticisms on social media, saying he was “saddened” and “confused” over the overwhelmingly negative comments. “We don’t really understand it. We never intended for this to be a marketing gimmick,” he said.
He also brought up Carrie Fisher’s appearance in the new Star Wars as an example of a way this posthumous CGI work can be done well, apparently missing the difference between honoring Fisher’s legacy in a role she was already scheduled to play and plopping James Dean in some random war movie half a century after his death.
When discussing whether resurrecting Dean digitally crosses a line with regards to posthumous casting, Ernst explained, “Anyone that is brought back to life – you have to respect them.” He noted Fisher’s posthumous appearances in the Star Wars franchise, saying that if the actress had expressed never wanting to be in a film after her death, or if her legacy or that of the franchise could be “tarnished” because of her casting, “then that should be a line.”
“I think the line should be … you must always honor the deceased’s wishes and try to act in a way that is honorable and full of dignity,” Ernst said.
“Hit the Road Jack and don’t come back no more” — Percy Mayfield Percy Mayfield: “Hit the road Jack, and don’t come back any more.”
Hit The Road is a road trip that builds upon Abbas Kiarostami’s “A Taste of Cherry” and Jafar Panahi’s “Taxi”. Panah, Jafar’s son, has continued his father’s legacy with a mix of comedy, sadness and family drama as well as serious social/political themes. The film is a success in that it brings the definition of “comedy/drama” into sharp focus. However, the protest against the repressive government in Tehran comes through loud and clear. The opening scene is not clear and it seems that the director is being restricted by the authorities in what he is allowed to say.
The film begins with an SUV crossing a dusty and dry Iranian landscape near the Turkish border. The mother (Pantea Paniha from “Exodus”) is asking “Where are you?” Her son (Rayan Sarlak from “Gol be Khodi”) replies “We’re all dead.” However, it does not appear that the passengers in the car are engaged in a death rumble. Khosro the father, a bearded man (Mohammad Hassan Madjooni from “Latyan”), with his leg cast, has to constantly fend of the rascally intruders. The film focuses primarily on the interior of a car, and our first impression is of family dysfunction.
You can choose to pay your money, and the father will call the rambunctious boy a “pest,” a “little monkey,” or ‘the little fart.’ The boy kisses the floor when he gets out of the vehicle, much to the protests of his father, the disapproval from his mother (played by Panahiha), and the indifference shown by their sick dog Jessy. The opening scene is dominated by the shenanigans of the younger brother Farid (20-year-old Amin Simiar) and the Schubert A minor sonata D.784 in the background. The Schubert Sonata, which is used to great advantage in Robert Bresson’s sublime “Au hasard Batlhazar”, lends a first touch of sadness, despite its beauty.
The family doesn’t tell the boy why he is going, but they pretend that his brother will only be away for a few days to get married. The child is aware that this is a lie, which could be the cause of his exaggerated behavior. It is equally unnerving for the mother when she believes that someone is watching their car, but it’s only someone telling them that coolant is leaking. The cinematographer Amin Jfari elevates the aesthetics of the film when the car stops several times. He does this by capturing the beauty and charm of Iranian hills and landscapes.
One of the most beautiful scenes is when the father and son are lifted high above the Earth into a wonderful panoply stars. hit the Road becomes darker as we realize that Farid will never be seen again by the mother. The film becomes more mysterious when it begins to talk about quarantine and bail, as well as clandestine meetings between the car’s passengers, sheep merchants and other shadowy figures.
The viewer feels a strange sense of danger as the journey continues. This is also felt by the passengers in the car. As a way to hide their fears, they listen on the radio to a popular Iranian tune. The pop music, although it may seem out of place in the situation, seems to lift the mood. The little boy later asks his father if the cockroaches are cockroaches. Khosro says “We’re now.” “Whenever you see an cockroach,” Khosro adds, “remember his parents sent him into the world with a lot of hope.”
