Estates Of Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, Others Jump Onto Hologram Bandwagon
by Sean Comer
Oh, Dr. Dre - what hath thou wrought?
Apparently, Coachella 2012's holographic Tupac Shakur appearing alongside Dr. Dre was no one-off stunt, but a pioneering moment. Billboard reports that since Dre's digital reunion with his late Death Row Records label-mate, estates of bygone entertainers have been leaving the woodwork and looking to go all "Help me, Obi-Wan Kanobi..." with other lost stars' likenesses.
Digital Domain Media Group - the Tupac hologram's creators - and Core Media Group are joining a charge of estates that includes those of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix and The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison, among others. First up, the group is working on a pair of Presley holograms that Digital Domain CEO and chairman John Textor claims will cost millions of dollars in development. Jack Soden is President and CEO of the Core Media division dubbed Elvis Presley Enterprises, and claims his group will own the images.
Jeff Jampol manages both The Doors and the estates of not only Morrison, but also Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Peter Tosh and Rick James. He envisions a show inside a venue with pixilated walls and employing lasers, lights, high-quality sound, vibrations, projected images and even 3-D.
"This is not re-purposing old footage that the world has already seen," said Digital Domain Chief Creative Officer Ed Ulbrich. "We're making totally original and exclusive performances so that fans can have new experiences."
Jampol pictures an experience intensive enough to make interaction with the deceased legends possible.
"We're trying to get to a point where 3-D characters will walk around. Hopefully, 'Jim Morrison' will be able to walk right up to you, look you in the eye, sing right at you and then turn around and walk away."
Hendrix' sister and Experience Hendrix President and CEO Janie and London's Musion Systems are working side-by-side creating a version of her lost brother that's "about keeping Jimi authentically correct. There are no absolutes at this point." Meanwhile, a Monroe performance could possibly come to coincide with this August's 50th anniversary of the "Some Like It Hot" iconic bombshell's death. Though Digicon Media has "certain copyrights on her name and likeness, any work toward that project has thus far been reportedly without the estate's involvement.