Marilyn Monroe could live again as her brand rights are sold (Odd Story of the Week)
Toronto businessman Jamie Salter this week bought the rights to late 1950s Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, and as CGI technology evolves there is a chance she could soon appear in a new feature film.
“We're pretty comfortable that Marilyn Monroe, in the next couple of years, will be in a real feature film and be playing a part,” Salter said in an interview with the Toronto Star.
“I don't know if it's a 007 movie or if it's action or it's drama or what type of movie it's going to be, but she's going to be an actress that the director chooses, no different than Kate Hudson or Meryl Streep.”
Authentic Brands Group, the New York-based brand development and licensing company which Salter is chairman and CEO of, announced the deal in conjunction with NECA, a global media and entertainment company.
The purchase price for Monroe's name and likeness is unconfirmed, but published reports have said it was nearly $50m.
Salter's company plan to do with Monroe's image what they did with the Bob Marley brand and steer it away from the souvenir business, instead bringing the Monroe's brand into what “bigger categories,” including fragrance, personal care, beauty aids, apparel, footwear and handbags.
Salter’s company is also talking with the Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles to represent them as they try to incorporate Monroe's likeness into digital media.
“We really felt strongly that the digital game is going to change these dead celebrities,” said Salter, adding: “Digital media is incredible. There was an article that was just written (in which) George Lucas said that he's going to do a movie bringing back dead celebrities because he can make them as real as they were when they were alive.”