The estate for Jimi Hendrix has joined other estates – including those for Doors front man Jim Morrison, and Marilyn Monroe – in considering the idea of holographic live performances following the Tupac hologram’s appearances with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at Coachella in April.
Janie Hendrix, the rock legend’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, reports Billboard.com.
“For us, of course, it’s about keeping Jimi authentically correct,” she says. “There are no absolutes at this point.”
Jeff Jampol, who manages the Doors as well as the estates of Morrison, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Peter Tosh and Rick James, hopes to eventually create a multimedia experience featuring the band. The show might take place in either a tent or a freestanding building, with the walls pixilated like a large TV screen and utilizing lasers, lights, high-quality sound, vibrations, projected imagery and the 3-D figures, he says.
“We’re trying to get to a point where 3-D characters will walk around,” Jampol says, noting that he’s been exploring the idea for about eight years with British music video/commercial director Jake Nava. “Hopefully, ‘Jim Morrison’ will be able to walk right up to you, look you in the eye, sing right at you and then turn around and walk away.”
Plans for a virtual Monroe concert is also in the works. The upcoming 50th anniversary of her death in August brought word of a “live” concert by the late sex symbol from a firm called Digicon Media. However, the company’s rep told the Hollywood Reporter it isn’t working with Monroe’s estate since it already holds “certain copyrights” on the starlet’s name and likeness.
The company, Digital Domain Media Group, recently signed an exclusive deal with Core Media Group to jointly produce a series of “virtual” Elvis Presley likenesses for various entertainment projects.
“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.”
