Only Bruce Willis has the rights to Bruce Willis’s face, it transpires.
It was widely reported last week that the star had sold the rights to his face to a Russian deepfake company called Deepcake – allowing the company to create a “digital twin” for the actor, who retired in March following his diagnosis of aphasia, a condition affecting a person’s speech.
The BBC reports that Willis’ spokesperson denied any partnership or agreement with the company.
Deepcake said this to BBC: “The wording about rights is wrong… Bruce couldn’t sell anyone any rights, they are his by default.”
Artificial intelligence is used to make realistic simulations of famous celebrities by deepfake firms. Last year, a deepfake of Willis was featured in an advertisement for a Russian telecoms firm. Deepcake claims to have worked with the actor on the AI for the ad and used a glowing recommendation by him on their website, but Willis’s people did not confirm this to the BBC.
Last week Star WarsJames Earl Jones, a veteran in the field, gave the rights to his Darth Vader sounds to Respeecher (an AI company), indicating that he was stepping down from the role and passing on the torch through technology.