Last week it was reported that Bruce Willis had sold its likeness rights to be used in future deepfake videos, but it appears that’s not exactly the case. While it is true that Willis has had his image replicated by the company Deepcake before, both Willis and Deepcake representatives have confirmed that no deal has been struck over control of the actor’s image for upcoming work.
Bruce Willis was forced to retire earlier this year due to a diagnosis of aphasia. While the actor has made more than 20 films in the past two years, all of them low-budget straight to DVD business, he also appeared in a commercial for a Russian telephone service without really moving a muscle, as the entire performance was a deepfake. At the time, Willis said it was an “opportunity to step back in time,” so it wasn’t surprising, then, when stories surfaced about the actor selling his eponymous rights.
Now according to Yahoo EntertainmentWillis representatives have dismissed the reports, stating that no official contract or agreement has been signed with Deepcake. This is something that was later confirmed by Deepcake’s representatives, who said that despite their previous work with the actor, his likeness still belongs to him.
Bruce Willis’s retirement shocked the world
As Willis announced his retirement in March of this year, sparking a wave of love and support from the actor’s previous co-stars, directors, friends and fans, the shock of his diagnosis and being forced into a stepping back from acting has been softened by the fact that his last films have yet to be released.
Among the projects yet to be released are: Paradise City, the film expected to be Willis’ last appearance. The film also stars John Travolta and Praya Lundberg and sees Willis play Ryan Swan, a man who “must make his way through the Hawaiian crime scene to get revenge on the kingpin who killed his father.” Set in Hawaii, the film follows the tried-and-true revenge route, sounds like just the kind of movie for Willis to make his swan song, and fixed with his Pulp Fiction co-star, it’s nice for Willis to be able to deal with a trusted base on board.
While nearly all of Willis’ releases in the past two years have been roundly panned by critics, the aim of the films was to allow the star to cram as many roles into his final years as an actor. Willis is clearly determined to make sure he doesn’t slip away quietly and has just been happy to be a solid actor for a few years, knowing he wouldn’t be able to do this much longer. While the films may not match some of Bruce Willis’ biggest films of the past four decades, they were a bittersweet finale to the career of one of Hollywood’s greatest and possibly most unlikely action heroes.