The teams of Rogue One are at the heart of a legal battle, following the digital resurrection of Peter Cushing for the needs of a scene. In 2016, Gareth Edwards brought together Felicity Jones, Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn to tell the events that precede A New Hope. In front of his camera, it is about staging a team of courageous rebels who were able to get their hands on the plans for the Death Star. These plans are those held by Leia Organa in the 1977 film, those that will allow the alliance to win a first battle against the Empire. For the needs of the story, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is reanimated using digital technology.
Guy Henry’s face was used to recreate that of Peter Cushing, who died of cancer in 1994. At the time, Disney and Lucasfilm were approached by the actor’s estate executors to help make the appearance a reality. £28,000 awarded to Cushing’s executors. Tyburn Film Productions is contesting the transaction, arguing that it was their decision whether or not to authorize such use of the actor’s image. The president Kevin Francis claims that the actor entrusted him with the responsibility of accepting the reproduction of his image thanks to special effects. Francis also filed lawsuits against the deceased executors and against Associated International Management, the agency that represented Cushing until his death. Kevin Francis is claiming £500,000 from Disney and its subsidiary.
An investigation that deserves to be carried out
Last December, Disney asked to have the case dismissed. That request was denied. The Disney-owned companies appealed that decision and were denied again on Monday. Judge Tom Mitcheson said that while the plaintiff has little chance of winning, the case is not “incontestable”. “In a developing area of law, it is very difficult to determine where the boundaries lie in the absence of a full factual investigation.”
Justice is moving through a minefield, while fears about Artificial Intelligence are numerous. The use of digital doubles, living or dead actors, was also at the heart of the debates during the actors’ strike that took place in Hollywood in 2023. Last August, the California Senate adopted a law forcing studios, producers to obtain prior agreement of the heirs actors and actresses they want to bring back through digital effects. SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents a majority of actors in the American industry, is “another victory in our ongoing strategy to strengthen protection for artists in a world of generative artificial intelligence”. The use of a digital double of Peter Cushing in Rogue One was among the examples cited by Douglas Mirell, a partner at the law firm Greenberg Glusker, in arguing for the bill last April. He said at the time:
“In each of these four cases, permission to use the voice and/or likeness of these deceased artists was sought and obtained from the families or representatives of their respective estates. Simply put, the passage of AB 1836 will ensure this outcome from now on and into the future.”
The complaint filed against Disney thus recalls the numerous challenges facing the justice system in determining which of the heirs, production companies with agreements or even agents, have the legitimacy to authorize or not the use of the image of a deceased person.
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