Dr. Dre started a huge trend when he brought out hologram Tupac for his Coachella performance a few months back. The estates of several deceased legends began to see dollar signs, and Digital Domain Media Group, the visual effects company that created the hologram, has been bombarded with calls from the estates of everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Rick James.
According to Billboard, the first hologram to come will be the Elvis hologram, which is already in production and will reportedly cost millions to produce.
“This is not repurposing old footage that the world has already seen,” Digital Domain chief creative officer Ed Ulbrich says, referencing how the recent Tupac projection was also built from scratch. “We’re making totally original and exclusive performances so that fans can have new experiences.”
The estates for other artists, including Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Marilyn Monroe have also been considering the idea of holographic live performances.
Janie Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix’s sister and Experience Hendrix president/CEO, has been working with London-based company Musion Systems for about a year to create a virtual version of her late brother. “For us, of course, it’s about keeping Jimi authentically correct,” she says. “There are no absolutes at this point.”
Would you pay to go see a hologram performance from Rick James, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, or Marilyn Monroe?