You see it your way, I’ll see it mine

Overnight I was both interested and intrigued to see a piece on the website of The Independent about the steps that the late actor/comedian Robin Williams has taken to secure his legacy or – to put it another way – prevent his image being exploited after his demise. Apparently, via legal documents and stipulations, his estate has done its best to ensure that his image cannot be used for any commercial purpose for up to 25 years after his death, i.e. in his case to 2039.

To see the article, follow this link to – THE INDEPENDENT

If my allegedly fading memory serves, contributors to the Rust have speculated previously about the pros and cons of taking advantage of modern technological advances that seemingly enable actors to be ‘morphed’ [is that the correct term for high-definition image capture?] and then effectively manipulated via CGI techniques to complete movies that they died during the making of – prime example: Oliver Reed and Gladiator – or just engineered to do weird and wonderful things on the screen (e.g. actor Andy Serkis, who seems to specialise in the genre, as Gollum in Lord of The Rings or Caesar in the 2011 Plant Of The Apes movie).

Mention has even been made of the potential all-round benefits, e.g. actors getting themselves ‘cloned’ into CGI mode at the peak of their looks and youthful bodies at the outset of their careers and thereafter never even having to turn up on a movie set, or undertake those interminable world tours combining vacuous media interviews and premiere cakewalk appearances. Or indeed – as far as the world is concerned – without ever worrying about looking their best, keeping their looks, or [vital, this one] ever growing old.

By the same token, just think of the potential plusses for movie moguls and producers. They could do business deals to use the images of the hottest male and female stars of the moment … and then proceed to make exactly the movie they wanted to make without ever having to deal with those airhead-divas, with their late arrivals on set, their ridiculous contractual demands and backstage requirements, their substance abuse, their tantrums and failures to learn their lines. Or indeed, having to deal with their obnoxious agents on a daily basis.

A win all round, would you not say?

Come to think of it, why should these modern joys be restricted to the movies?

Why not ‘clone’ the very best musicians, ballet dancers, acrobats, opera singers and performing poets? It would be a perfect career move for so many. They wouldn’t have to sacrifice their personal lives to endless practice, rehearsal, travelling and performing.

In addition, there’d be no further need for expensive insurance policies to cover injury, illness or incapacity. As far as their performing ‘image’ was concerned, there just wouldn’t be any.

Our elite artistes could thereafter simply carry on leading wonderfully uncluttered and uncomplicated private lives, devoid of stress and untroubled by the world’s media, whilst their ‘alter egos’ lived their lives in the public eye for them.

What’s not to like?

This is the reason that, in 1998, I had myself cryogenically frozen in San Diego – the location of the only institute commercially offering this unique service at the time – and simultaneously rendered in CGI by a subsidiary of a globally well-known animation company connected with small rodents.

Since then all those that know me have been unknowingly dealing not with me, but instead effectively a micro-managed hologram of myself.

Furthermore, a small but dedicated team of scriptwriters have been supplying my supposed journalistic endeavours, including this one, to a wide range of publications.

Thereby over the past fifteen years Byford Enterprises Inc. (holding company situated in the Cayman Islands) has been amassing a substantial fortune on my behalf, whilst my descendants and I wait for 2050 – when, by prior decree, my body will be gradually unfrozen and revived – and the point at which we all go to live in the US$ 75 million mansion expressly built in Honduras for the purpose.

Goodnight. I love you all …