Bringing the Dead Back to Life: Preparing the Estate for a Post-Mortem Acting Role

Abstract

Computer generated imagery (CGI) now has the ability to accurately recreate deceased actors and actresses for movie roles long after their death. This student comment examines how the right to publicity gives an actor the ability to protect their postmortem persona rights beyond their death using estate planning techniques.

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Keywords: CGI, Estate Planning, Wills, Intestacy, James Dean, Peter Cushing, Paul Walker, right of publicity, post-mortem right of publicity, Rogue One, Furious 7, Finding Jack, Bringing the Dead back to Life, dead actors, deepfakes, resurrection, digital

JEL Classification: K11