This article was taken from the May 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Fast-forward Stanislaw Lem's 1971 sci-fi novel The Futurological Congress by 50 years, and you get The Congress -- a colourful sci-fi satire tackling the technological dominance of Hollywood.
Directed by Israeli screenwriter Ari Folman, The Congress has actress Robin Wright (of House of Cards) offered a once-in-a-lifetime deal: sell her image to a film studio, so it can make movies starring her ageless digital avatar. "I'm not technophobic, and I'm not trying to frame a scary movie about where Hollywood is going," says Folman. "This is the world we already live in." In February last year, Audrey Hepburn came back to life to sell Galaxy chocolate. Even the digital facility in southern California, where Robin Wright is scanned in the film, is real. "It's called Light Stage 5," Folman explains. "If you look at their demos, you'd never know it was scanned actors. The technology has been here for a long time."
Folman, who made his name in 2008 with the technically striking animation Waltz With Bashir, believes such technologies will not just affect actors, but his own role as well. "Today, the set is just a platform of blue screens and green screens, and the written work is in action and animation and CGI," he says. "Maybe we need different qualifications to be a director now."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
