8
ENTERTAINMENT
February 2017
CGI: Necessary or Invasive?
The morality of recreating deceased actors using CGI
by Mayra Favela
I
Staff Writer
t is the future for the film
industry and deceased actors can
now easily be replaced using CGI
to finish off a movie, but is it right?
With the recent death of actor
Carrie Fisher, many are wondering
what will happen to her Star Wars
character, Princess/General Leia,
in future films. This brings up the
controversial topic of whether the
use of CGI to replicate an actor's
performance is an offensive
move on the filmmaker’s part.
Kennedy Junior Gustavo Saldana
expressed, “Carrie Fisher had
a big role in the movie, so it is
hard to say if CGI should be
used to fill in for her character
for the entirety of the saga, but
in a movie such as Star Wars,
where it's of the sci-fi genre,
CGI could be used beautifully.”
There comes situations where
a film project is in process and
a lead role unfortunately dies
mid-filming. The makers have a
choice of completing the movie
using CGI to replicate an actor’s
character for the sake of the plot,
and that choice is understandable
and often times necessary
to the project many makers
have been working hard on.
Junior Gabriel Lopez stated,
“I don't necessarily believe
“CGIing has
become a Pandora’s
box of opportunities...”
it's either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’
to use CGI , but I believe it
should be allowed depending
on the movie's importance.”
In the film The Crow, Brandon
Lee’s character had to be
CGI’d into the end scenes due
to his death happening before
the movie was done filming.
Another well-known example
Cougars, Center Stage
A spotlight on artist Liliana Medina and her scholarship
by Caitlynn Sandberg
Entertainment Editor
R
ecently awarded a full
scholarship to Loyola Marymount
University, Liliana Medina
plans to use her unique
breakfast in December 2016.
LMU is known for its school
of
film
and
television.
While involved in the mentorship
for the past year, Medina was
with her mentor Kelly Avery
who took her around the
Dreamworks
Studio
where
she was able to meet people
involved in every department
at the studio. The mentorship
also offered six hour SAT prep
classes every Saturday for the
year of 2016. All of the 18
girls in the mentorship went
to these prep classes and
raised their scores over time.
The process of winning
the scholarship was very
long and exhausting from
Various samples from Liliana Medina’s scketchbooks laid out on display
talent
for
drawing
and
animation to start a possible
career
the
moment
she
graduates
high
school.
Medina has been chosen,
among
the
six
girls
who
applied,
to
accept
the Women in Entertainment
scholarship to LMU. It was
announced at the Women
in Entertainment Hot 100
the minute she decided to
apply for it. Alongside scoring
well on the SAT, getting
accepted
into
LMU
and
keeping her grades up to par,
Medina
and
the
other
girls had to “write essays
explaining why [she] deserved
the scholarship and why
[she] wanted to go to LMU.”
A table of funders went over
The Word
is the death of Paul Walker
interfering with the filming of
Furious 7; although the movie
was delayed about 9 months
from when news of his death
surfaced, Walker’s brother ended
up filling in for his remaining
scenes with the help of CGI.
Saldana adds that he hopes
the filmmakers will pay respect
to Carrie Fisher’s image in
a similar way. “When Paul
Walker passed away they used
his brother to finish some
scenes of the movie, and story
wise they resolved it where he
distanced himself from the group
to have a peaceful transition
and ending of his character.”
Now
there
are
other
situations where it’s morality
is questionable. Using CGI
to replicate a deceased actor’s
character for a brand new
project, of which the actor
may have never known of before
their death, just seems wrong.
In Rogue One, Peter Cushing’s
character, Grand Moff Tarkin,
was brought back to life using
all
the
contributing
factors
and
made
their
decision
based
on
that.
At the university she plans on
majoring in animation where she
will take 3D-animation, characterrigging, and stop-motion classes
for movies like Coraline.
“I’m going to be doing
what I want to do as a career:
storyboarding
and
preanimation,” explains Medina.
Through the mentorship
she was able to work with
many people including Bonnie
Arnold who told her about an
internship with Dreamworks
over the summer that Medina
will
be
participating
in.
There
she
will
get
to overlook the work of
people at the studio and
make connections that will
hopefully contribute towards her
future
in
the
business.
Over the years, Medina
has received recognition for
her artwork. She has received
the back-cover contest in
2015 and 2016 for Kennedy’s
“Voices and Visions.” In
her
sophomore
year
she
also won an award for
“Outstanding Artwork” from
Chapman University for a
Holocaust remembrance contest.
Medina started off drawing
when she was little and
always looked forward to
the time allotted every week
for art in elementary school.
She did not actually get
serious about it until about
twelve years old. A lot
of her inspiration comes
from her daily life and
the actions of her friends
“I dream a lot, and it sparks
ideas and things for me to
draw,”
Medina
described.
Inspiration has come asking
a lot of “what if” questions
after watching movies and
reading stories. For Medina
she uses her surroundings and
imagination to draw. This has
helped her get where she is today.
thekennedyword.com
archival footage from the previous
film Star Wars: Episode IV.
Lopez also explained, “Grand
Moff Tarkin was an essential
character to the movie's whole
story line so it felt necessary.
Since Star Wars is a huge
block-buster series, it would
While Episode IX is still in the
process of being scripted and
scheduled, it has been confirmed
that this film has no intention to
CGI Fisher in, though she was
expected to be included in it.
The use of CGI can become
necessary
for
films
with
Actor being modified in the image of Grand Moff Tarkin in Rouge One
be a good idea to continue the
deceased actor/actresses's role
through CGI rather than leave
obvious blank plot holes.”
It has been confirmed that
Carrie Fisher has already
finished filming all her scenes
for Star Wars: Episode VIII.
unexpected deaths, but at the
same time, it is imitating an
actor’s performance and may
come off as offensive towards
the art. No matter what the
judgment, CGIing has become a
Pandora’s box of opportunities
and it’s impossible to close.
Adding to the Star Wars Universe
Comparing Rouge One and the Force Awakens
by Caridad Valle
Staff Writer
R
ogue One: A Star Wars Story
made its debut in December 2016
as the first film of the Star Wars
anthology series. In 2015, The
Force Awakens was released
and was the continuation to the
original trilogy. Both movies
were heavily anticipated and
somewhat questioned but much to
public and critic relief, both
motion pictures have done
stunningly at the box office.
Even
though
both
films
are a part of the newer generation
of Star Wars films, they take
very different approaches on
the idea of hope, which is an
extremely prominent theme
in the Star Wars universe.
Rogue One is set between
Revenge of the Sith and A New
Hope and explains the story of
the heroes who retrieved the
plans to the Death Star and is
by far the darkest, most realistic
film in the Star Wars franchise.
Rather than the typical theme of
light versus dark, and the use of
a typical “force” trope, the movie
depicts the intensity of the
Rebellion
from
a
much
more pragmatic perspective,
exemplified
by
Cassian
killing
an
informant.
The Force Awakens is very
much a continuation to the
original trilogy because of its
similarities to A New Hope.
Even with the new addition of
main characters, it was still very
much the same when it came
to themes and genre-related
tropes. The Force Awakens
did its job with continuing the
storyline and helping viewers
to feel a sense of nostalgia.
The film relies so much on the
past movies to tell its story.
There was the return of a droid
to carry out an important message
for the Rebels, another father/
son revelation, all of the same
tropes that have been used in
the Star Wars universe before.
On the other hand, Rogue One did
not follow up to the other movies
and managed to do it well. Rogue
One constructed a framework
different from the other movies
and the outcome of that was
beautifully brutal and tragic. Star
Wars has always aligned itself
with a political message, because
the films have always been about
standing up to fight against
fascism and tyranny, and Rogue
One portrays that message deftly.
The original trilogy showed
the viewpoint from the side
of the Rebels and presented
it in a valiant lighting.
Rogue One showed the reality
of what war does to both sides;
the movie didn’t just show the
conflict at hand but showed the
loss of innocence and viewers saw
a darker side of the Rebellion that
hasn’t been in any other film so far.
The new characters in Rogue
One all had their place in the
film, with a cast filled with
wonderful diversity and a handful
amount of easter eggs, including
the return of Darth Vader and
cameos including R2-D2 and
C-3PO. Rogue One managed
to fill in the holes that were left
empty by the original trilogy.
The film managed to explain
the Rebels in greater depth, the
idea of the Death Star, and even
as dark and gritty as the film
was, told the previously untold
story of what occured prior
to the events of A New Hope.
The Force Awakens was a
fantastic continuation to the
original trilogy and to the
start of the newer generation
of Star Wars films to come.
While Rogue One was different,
it still connected to the original
movies and managed to bring in
brand new storylines and further
extend the vast fictional universe.