[ChrisMatson]

Does anyone know the status of the film, Dragon Warrior that was to use a virtual version of Bruce Lee? The last references I can find are dated from 2001 and pointed to a 2004 release. Lee's widow, Linda, and daughter, Shannon, gave permission to use his likeness.

Story here:
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,48449,00.html

and here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...lm/1658394.stm

and here:
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,9123,00.html

[JonZ]

Havent heard anything in about 2 years.

[Garrett Lundy]

Maybe the studio finally realised that it'll be another decade at least (if ever) until a computer generated actor can blend seamlessly with a live one (Even Gollum had flaws..admit it).

[Scott Burke]

I thought this was just another way that studios could get money from an actor they don't have to pay.

[JonZ]

Garrett,I thought the whole film was supposed to be digital like Final Fantasy.

[ChrisMatson]

From the E! Online story above:

But instead of digitally tweaking old footage of the deceased star, Dragon Warrior's computer artists will literally recreate Lee using the kind of computer-generated technology that made Jar Jar Binks a real-life character in The Phantom Menace and created many of creatures in The Lord of the Rings. If all goes well, the computerized Lee will be indistinguishable from the real deal and will be inserted seamlessly into the live-action film.

From Wired:

Using computer graphics technology, a South Korean filmmaker is making a $50 million movie that will be the first to feature a long-dead star in a leading role. Chul Shin, a producer of 15 Korean-language films, said he is developing software that will fool audiences into believing they're seeing Bruce Lee in the flesh.

"I think you saw Final Fantasy?" the 45-year-old producer said in halting English from his office in South Korea. "The characters in that film didn't have the vitality essential to life. We will create vitality."

But Shin's Bruce Lee film, tentatively titled Dragon Warrior and slated for release in 2004, takes the quest for photo-realistic "synthespians" to an entirely new level.

The devil will be in the details. "It's very difficult to create liquids on the skin, like sweat or blood," Shin said. "That's one thing we're now solving."

From the BBC:

Bruce Lee is to be "resurrected" by computer technology to star in Dragon Warrior, the first time a dead actor will be re-created in a major movie role, according to US trade magazine Variety.

The $50m (£35m) film is being financed by South Korean film company ShinCine Communications, which acquired the rights to Lee's likeness from his estate.

The film company, headed by Chul Shin, is said to have been working on the project for the past four years.

I can't find any articles more recent than the three I posted above from 2001. Perhaps the project was abandoned.

[Chet_F]

"I can't find any articles more recent than the three I posted above from 2001. Perhaps the project was abandoned."

I have yet to hear any additional info since 2001 as I was very interested in the idea. I think it has been abandoned.