James Dean Coming Back to Life in CGI For War Drama Finding Jack

James Dean coming back to life in CGI for war drama Finding Jack

It has already been 63 years since the late James Dean starred in his third and final Western drama film Giant, and now The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the two-time Academy Award-nominated actor will be brought to life through CGI technology to star in the forthcoming action-drama film Finding Jack.

The iconic actor died at the young age of 24 in 1955 due to a car accident. Even though he had only starred in three films, Dean has been a pop culture icon known for his rebellious image onscreen.

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Directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh have acquired the rights to use Dean’s image from his family and have partnered with Canadian VFX, Imagine Engine and South African VFX company MOI Worldwide to digitally create “a realistic version of James Dean”  by using actual footage and photos from his past works.

“We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean,”  Ernst said in a statement. “We feel very honored that his family supports us and will take every precaution to ensure that his legacy as one of the most epic film stars to date is kept firmly intact. The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down.”

Bases on author Gareth Crocker’s novel of the same name, Finding Jack is set during the Vietnam War and is inspired by actual events when more than 10,000 military dogs were abandoned at the end of the War. It will tell the story of an unlikely friendship between a man and a yellow Labrador. The CGI James Dean will be playing the film’s secondary lead named Rogan with another actor set to voice the character.

The book’s official synopsis reads: “After losing his young family in a tragic accident, Fletcher Carson joins the flagging war effort in Vietnam. Deeply depressed, he plans to die in the war. But during one of his early missions, Fletcher rescues a critically wounded yellow Lab whom he nurses back to health and names Jack. As Fletcher and Jack patrol and survive the forests of Vietnam, Fletcher slowly regains the will to live. 

At the end of the war, the U.S. Government announces that due to the cost of withdrawal, all U.S. dogs serving in the war have been declared “surplus military equipment” and will not be transported home. For the hundreds of dog handlers throughout Vietnam, whose dogs had saved countless lives, the news is greeted with shock and disbelief. For Fletcher, he knows that if he abandons Jack, then he too will be lost. Ordered to leave Jack behind, he refuses—and so begins their journey.”

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Finding Jack will be directed by Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh through their Magic City Films banners with Maria Sova writing the film’s screenplay. Ernst and Golyk also serve as producers along with Artistry Media Group’s Donald A. Barton.

Pick up a copy of the book here.

The film is eyeing for a worldwide release on November 11, 2020.

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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