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Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face

bbc.com

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Re: Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face

#3
I see comparisons with David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen selling the rights to their back catalogs.

While this firm seems a little sketchy to me and probably didn't really own the rights to his likeness, I think it's something he and other older actors should consider to provide a financial legacy for their heirs. I imagine the contract would contain things like what an acceptable use would be, payments for using it, and caps on fees.

Re: Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face

#4
What's really interesting about this story is just how many sites published it without verifying. They just heard it from another news site and copied it.

It's actually a good measure of a site's journalistic worth: did they publish this fake story? Then they are probably not worth your time. I wonder if there's a list anywhere?

Re: Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face

#5
Related:

Bruce Willis Sells Deepfake Likeness Rights So His 'Twin' Can Star in Movies - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33044297 - Oct 2022 (112 comments)

Actor Bruce Willis Becomes First Celebrity to Sell Rights to Deepfake Firm - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33024959 - Sept 2022 (24 comments)

Re: Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face

#9
post #8
post #7

Quoted post unavailable.

His problem is aphasia, not dementia. Aphasia makes it difficult to recall words and for him made giving his lines impossible.

Many people with aphasia have memory issues, or are in the early stages of dementia.

I don't know about Bruce Willis' situation particularly, but it's not a stretch to assume some level of memory defect in those with aphasia.

Re: Bruce Willis denies selling rights to his face

#10
The denial – "Please know that Bruce has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company" – is carefully worded to be true even if he had an agreement at some previous time. Deepcake itself denies ever claiming that they'd bought any rights from Willis, only that they had his permission to create a deepfake. And, "The BBC asked Willis's agent whether he had ever worked with Deepcake, or whether the quote used by the company was accurate. The BBC has not yet received a response."
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