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Virtual actor 235
Legal issues
Critics such as Stuart Klawans in the New York Times expressed worry about the loss of "the very thing that art was
supposedly preserving: our point of contact with the irreplaceable, finite person". More problematic, however, are
issues of copyright and personality rights. An actor has little legal control over a digital clone of him/herself and
must resort to database protection laws in order to exercise what control he/she has. (The proposed U.S. Database
and Collections of Information Misappropriation Act would strengthen such laws.) An actor does not own the
copyright on his/her digital clone unless he/she was the actual creator of that clone. Robert Patrick, for example,
[6] [8]
would have little legal control over the liquid metal cyborg digital clone of himself created for Terminator 2.
The use of a digital clone in the performance of the cloned person's primary profession is an economic difficulty, as
it may cause the actor to act in fewer roles, or be at a disadvantage in contract negotiations, since the clone could be
used by the producers of the movie to substitute for the actor in the role. It is also a career difficulty, since a clone
could be used in roles that the actor himself/herself would, conscious of the effect that such roles might have on
his/her career, never accept. Bad identifications of an actor's image with a role harm careers, and actors, conscious of
this, pick and choose what roles they play. (Bela Lugosi and Margaret Hamilton became typecast with their roles as
Count Dracula and the Wicked Witch of the West, whereas Anthony Hopkins and Dustin Hoffman have played a
diverse range of parts.) A digital clone could be used to play the parts of (for examples) an axe murderer or a
prostitute, which would affect the actor's public image, and in turn affect what future casting opportunities were
given to the actor. Both Tom Waits and Bette Midler have won actions for damages against people who employed
their images in advertisements that they had refused to take part in themselves. [9]
In the US, the use of a digital clone in advertisements, as opposed to the performance of a person's primary
profession, is covered by section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, which subjects commercial speech to requirements of
accuracy and truthfulness, and which makes deliberate confusion unlawful. The use of a celebrity's image would be
an implied endorsement. The New York District Court held that an advertisement employing a Woody Allen
impersonator would violate the Act unless it contained a disclaimer stating that Allen did not endorse the product. [9]
Other concerns include posthumous use of digital clones. Barbara Creed states that "Arnold's famous threat, 'I'll be
back', may take on a new meaning". Even before Brandon Lee was digitally reanimated, the California Senate drew
up the Astaire Bill, in response to lobbying from Fred Astaire's widow and the Screen Actors Guild, who were
seeking to restrict the use of digital clones of Astaire. Movie studios opposed the legislation, and as of 2002 it had
yet to be finalized and enacted. Several companies, including Virtual Celebrity Productions, have in the meantime
purchased the rights to create and use digital clones of various dead celebrities, such as Marlene Dietrich [10] and
Vincent Price. [2]
In fiction
• S1m0ne, a 2002 science fiction drama film written, produced and directed by Andrew Niccol, starring Al Pacino.
In business
A Virtual Actor can also be a person who performs a role in real-time when logged into a Virtual World or
Collaborative On-Line Environment. One who represents, via an avatar, a character in a simulation or training event.
One who behaves as if acting a part through the use of an avatar.
Vactor Studio LLC is a New York-based company, but its "Vactors" (virtual actors) are located all across the US and
Canada. The Vactors log into virtual world applications from their homes or offices to participate in exercises
covering an extensive range of markets including: Medical, Military, First Responder, Corporate, Government,
Entertainment, and Retail. Through their own computers, they become doctors, soldiers, EMTs, customer service
reps, victims for Mass Casualty Response training, or whatever the demonstration requires. Since 2005, Vactor
Studio’s role-players have delivered thousands of hours of professional virtual world demonstrations, training