What's new

QuanChi's face model Shahjehan Khan - has a question for you.

I'm kinda confused by the question- or why he'd ask others if it was worth it, when really o ly his judgmenthere matters. But if it was me. Hell yeah.

Being a face model is never gonna be some repeating lucrative contract, it's just too easy to find someone who'll do it for less and still fits the bill.

The face model for Eli Vance in Half Life 2 was famously just some dude Valve employees saw on the street with a "looking for work" sign.
 

Ray'sGoodLiquor

I don't care I'm not a competitive player anymore
He's not being very direct about it, but this isn't an uncommon complaint in Hollywood right now.

Dave Chappelle is on this shit right now with Netflix too. Somehow being in a "desperate" situation is supposed to relieve you from contractual obligations. If Khan is in the screen actors guild, and he probably is, he got paid a minimum of $700/day, and I'd also bet he's not making the minimum. How many men here make a band a day getting your picture taken in a non-sexual context? I bust my ass burying underground pipes for a fraction of that, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for him? I think I'm very well paid for what I do and don't find myself complaining about it much, so maybe he would be happier switching places with me.
 

Rude

You will serve me in The Netherrealm
He's not being very direct about it, but this isn't an uncommon complaint in Hollywood right now.

Dave Chappelle is on this shit right now with Netflix too. Somehow being in a "desperate" situation is supposed to relieve you from contractual obligations. If Khan is in the screen actors guild, and he probably is, he got paid a minimum of $700/day, and I'd also bet he's not making the minimum. How many men here make a band a day getting your picture taken in a non-sexual context? I bust my ass burying underground pipes for a fraction of that, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for him? I think I'm very well paid for what I do and don't find myself complaining about it much, so maybe he would be happier switching places with me.
This comment is ass. Please delete. No one cares about what you do and don't think is, "real work."
 

theotherguy

Kombatant
Seems very much akin to the dramas that some of the OG MK1/2 actors went through back in the day. Interesting that after all these years nothing much has changed.

At the end of the day he signed the contract, hopefully reading it before doing so. If he didn't agree to the terms then probably shouldn't have went along with it.

Hindsight and all that, but you can only do what you think is right at the time, and at the time it seems it was right for him.

Whether someone (not sure who) needs to look into how these work scenarios play out... not sure.
 

Juxtapose

Master
Seems very much akin to the dramas that some of the OG MK1/2 actors went through back in the day. Interesting that after all these years nothing much has changed.
One thing middle-aged me has learned is that life is very cyclical and goes through phases that repeat in some form with every generation or so.
 

rifraf

Apprentice
The part where they own him and his likeness forever is completely ridiculous and utter nonsense. I'm pretty sure he could go to court and win. There is no "forever" in real life.
 

John Grizzly

The axe that clears the forest
The part where they own him and his likeness forever is completely ridiculous and utter nonsense. I'm pretty sure he could go to court and win. There is no "forever" in real life.
This doesn't make sense. Are you agreeing with him or saying that's he being ridiculous and it's utter nonsense?

He agreed to let him use his likeness. I don't know what the hell else he wants. They could literally find a million guys with a shaved head and no beard and make them a believable looking Quan Chi. He's really not that special. MKX Quan looked and sounded much, much cooler.
 

rifraf

Apprentice
This doesn't make sense. Are you agreeing with him or saying that's he being ridiculous and it's utter nonsense?

He agreed to let him use his likeness. I don't know what the hell else he wants. They could literally find a million guys with a shaved head and no beard and make them a believable looking Quan Chi. He's really not that special. MKX Quan looked and sounded much, much cooler.
Do we know if NRS owns his likeness forever for MK1, or can they just use his face in future MKs as well? Because this is kind of an important distinction.
Yeah, that was my point. If it's only for MK1, then it is what it is. But if it's forever in the sense for an infinite amount of future MK games, then this is obviously absurd. No matter what a piece of paper might say or not.
 

Juxtapose

Master
MKX Quan looked and sounded much, much cooler.
He really did.

But if it's forever in the sense for an infinite amount of future MK games, then this is obviously absurd. No matter what a piece of paper might say or not.
If that's what he signed for though, that's on him/his agent, not WB Games or NetherRealm Studios. Always read a contract in full, and if you're not comfortable about it or don't agree to something in it and the other party won't alter or remove said part, don't sign it.
 

rifraf

Apprentice
If that's what he signed for though, that's on him/his agent, not WB Games or NetherRealm Studios. Always read a contract in full, and if you're not comfortable about it or don't agree to something in it and the other party won't alter or remove said part, don't sign it.
Thankfully, the justice system is not as black and white. Mistakes happen, no one should be able to own your face, forever, just because you signed a piece of paper.
 

Juxtapose

Master
Thankfully, the justice system is not as black and white. Mistakes happen, no one should be able to own your face, forever, just because you signed a piece of paper.
His recourse if he's really not happy with things would be to take it to court and let them decide. That's about it.
 

Art Lean

Kombatant
Seems very much akin to the dramas that some of the OG MK1/2 actors went through back in the day. Interesting that after all these years nothing much has changed.

At the end of the day he signed the contract, hopefully reading it before doing so. If he didn't agree to the terms then probably shouldn't have went along with it.

Hindsight and all that, but you can only do what you think is right at the time, and at the time it seems it was right for him.

Whether someone (not sure who) needs to look into how these work scenarios play out... not sure.
Well a big difference between the dispute with the OG actors was that according to interviews with Daniel Pesina, they felt that they helped truly create those characters; helping with the costumes, coming up with the characters' iconic special moves, choreography and generally forming the basis of a number of design concepts that helped bring them to life far better than the rough character archetypes that they were given when development began. For Pesina, he believes there's every bit as much of himself in the performances of Scorpion and Johnny Cage for example, as there is of John Tobias's concept art. So for those actors, it had far more to do with wanting to be truly recognised as part of the original MK design team (as much as the technological developers behind the scenes), rather than it purely being down to their digitised likenesses continuing to be reused. This interview with Daniel Pesina on the Realm Kast is very long, but incredibly insightful on how they contributed to creating those characters we know and love today:

Indeed their dispute sounds closer to krazy Lawrence Kasanoff of Threshold Entertainment's own lawsuit against Midway, where he too felt he himself had truly "created" many these characters beyond their simple archetypes in the games. Obviously he was going over the top in his case, since Threshold's first MK productions didn't emerge until 1995 with the first movie and the Journey Begins, when there was already 2 games, comics and novels out that already expanded the characters and lore, with the third game on the way. By the time Threshold released Conquest in 1998, arguably their most lore-heavy installment in the franchise, there had already been even more games and extended media that truly developed those characters he's referring to. That said, to give the crazy old guy some credit, his company did create and develop some things that are still staples of MK to this day; Johnny and Sonya being a couple, Liu and Kitana as a couple, having to win 10 tournaments, the Lin Kuei logo, Reptile's home realm of Zaterra, the first appearance of Quan Chi (though he was admittedly on loan from Midway as a publicity effort), Johnny learning from Master Boyd etc. However, he certainly wasn't the intellectual property owner to the game characters he attempted to sue for, but I'm digressing... point was, it was more about getting more credit for characters and aspects of the IP he helped create (and then everything else), but you can read all about that how nutty Kasanoff got with his lawsuit here: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mortal-kombat-film-producer-sues-midway/1100-6212579/

Shahjehan Khan's almost rhetorical question here clearly appears to be more-so wondering about the big picture for the future of actors, I don't see it as specifically targeted against Mortal Kombat 1, or even being about the same things as the two previous disputes described above. After all, could this be what actors may end up having to do for a living all the time in the future, having no say on where their face is put, especially when they're not advertised for anything specific? This guy took work and ended up in Mortal Kombat, hurray, cool, we love that thing! But one day another person hoping for such a fun moment in the spotlight could sign a bunch of NDA's and end up in some kind of production that goes firmly against their ideological or political beliefs, that promoted extremist views, or who knows, could even wind up in all kinds of pornography.

Could their reputation or career be damaged by "appearing" in something they had no idea what it would be simply because they had some bills to pay one day? Will the actor even be needed to actually play themselves anymore? As the uncanny valley gets smaller and smaller, could digital actors be the stars of whole television series yet the original actor will never see anything beyond the cost of being face-scanned? Will dead actors be cast in films without needing any further consent from their estates in the future (and will new actors not be able to get roles one day because they lost the role to, say, a deceased yet digital and de-aged Tom Hardy)? Will extras, and the acting opportunities that can arise from being one, all be out of a job in the future because Warner Bros now has the likenesses of thousands of digital actors at their disposal who signed contracts and NDAs to appear in some videogames 30 years prior? They're fair and dignified questions to ask the world of the future, regardless of whether this guy enjoyed paid work to be put into an internationally acclaimed multimedia franchise involving ninjas and sorcerers or not. It's a subject matter the recent strikes targeted, so there's nothing wrong with him voicing his support on the matter, especially in the respectful and nuanced way that he did.

When it comes to Mortal Kombat specifically, I expect he'll be recast by the next game anyway, just like almost everyone has been for decades now and we'll never see his face again within the franchise. But as for now, I think he makes a good fresh take on Quan Chi :)
 
Last edited:

xenogorgeous

.... they mostly come at night. Mostly.
lol this dude is ridiculous, he is someone important ? I mean, he is a superstar , or some super hollywood celebrity or something like that ? Nope, right ? So, being the face of an iconic character in a super ultra famous franchise, this guy will have this as super advantage in future works and for his own career, so, what is the point ? :eek:

Indeed , he should be thankfull for this oportunity and carry on with his normal life, and stop vomiting bullshit on social medias ....

Anthony Starr complaining about payment and refusing to do voice work , for MK1, I can understand that, because he is already a very famous and well stabilished very good actor, but, this Quan Chi dude , nope, is kinda of nonsense his complaning .... :confused:
 

Rude

You will serve me in The Netherrealm
No. Go fuck yourself and stop entering voluntary legal agreements with other adults when you have no intention of holding up your end of the bargain. Nobody said shit about real work so I don't know what you're quoting.
This post is even worse. Should have stayed in the drafts.

Let me break it down for you:

That "voluntary" contract? Its actually more coercive than you might think. For one, the company that writes that contract up holds a disproportionate amount of power. They can write whatever terns they want so long as it's legit. Now this is normally where an agent comes in and negotiations happen until some kind of agreement is made.

But what if you don't have an agent or the ability to negotiate for better terms? Well then, you're locked into whatever terms are in that contract.

Now you might say to yourself, "Well they can just not sign and go somewhere else."

Sure. They could. Except the "somewhere else" employs many of the same tactics. You see this with writers and other positions in the film industry. If you're a smaller creator/model/etc, and you make your living off of creating/modeling/etc, you will have less bargaining power than say, a Brad Pitt.

And if your goal is to make a living in your chosen field - presumably a field you are passionate about enough to turn into a career - if you're not in a strong position to bargain because you're lesser-known or are just starting out, you're going to take the work you can get.

Everyone in the thread saying, "He signed a contract sucks to suck bro" don't seem to be aware of how complex and nuanced these sort of situations are.

If you look into the history of basically any creative field -including modeling- you'll find tons of examples where companies bought something from an artist/IP holder/etc for one flat rate, only to then make hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars more than what they paid for it.

Point is, there's a lot more to this than, "well he should work my laborer job to appreciate how easy his job is," or whatever bullshit you're on.

Worker's Rights.
Every industry needs to unionize.
 

Rude

You will serve me in The Netherrealm
Well a big difference between the dispute with the OG actors was that according to interviews with Daniel Pesina, apparently they felt that they helped truly create those characters; helping with the costumes, coming up with the characters' iconic special moves, choreography and generally forming the basis of a number of design concepts that helped bring them to life far better than the rough character archetypes that they were given when development began. For Pesina, he felt there's every bit as much of himself in the performances of Scorpion and Johnny Cage for example, as there is of John Tobias's concept art. So for those actors, it had far more to do with wanting to be truly recognised as part of the original MK design team (as much as the technological developers behind the scenes), rather than it purely being down to their digitised likenesses continuing to be reused.

Indeed their dispute sounds closer to Lawrence Kasanoff of Threshold Entertainment's own lawsuit against Midway, where he too felt he himself had truly "created" many these characters beyond their simple archetypes in the games. Obviously he was going over the top in his case, since Threshold's first MK productions didn't emerge until 1995 with the first movie and the Journey Begins, when there was already 2 games, comics and novels out that already expanded the characters and lore, with the third game on the way. By the time Threshold released Conquest in 1998, arguably their most lore-heavy installment in the franchise, there had already been even more games and extended media that truly developed those characters he's referring to. That said, to give the crazy old guy some credit, his company did create and develop some things that are still staples of MK to this day; Johnny and Sonya being a couple, Liu and Kitana as a couple, having to win 10 tournaments, the Lin Kuei logo in Conquest, Reptile's home realm of Zaterra, the first appearance of Quan Chi (though he was admittedly on loan from Midway as a publicity effort), Johnny learning from Master Boyd etc. However, he certainly wasn't the intellectual property owner to the game characters he attempted to sue for, but I'm digressing... you can read all about that how nutty Kasanoff got with his lawsuit here: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mortal-kombat-film-producer-sues-midway/1100-6212579/

Shahjehan Khan's almost rhetorical question here clearly appears to be more-so wondering about the big picture for the future of actors, I don't see it as specifically targeted against Mortal Kombat 1. After all, could this be what actors may end up having to do for a living all the time in the future, having no say on where their face is put, especially when they're not advertised for anything specific? This guy took work and ended up in Mortal Kombat, hurray, cool! But one day another person hoping for such a fun moment in the spotlight could sign a bunch of NDA's and end up in some kind of production that goes firmly against their ideological or political beliefs, or who knows, even extreme pornography. Could their reputation or career be damaged by "appearing" in something they had no idea what it would be simply because they had some bills to pay one day? Will the actor even be needed to actually play themselves anymore? As the uncanny valley gets smaller and smaller, could digital actors be the stars of whole television series yet the original actor will never see anything beyond the cost of being face-scanned? They're fair questions to ask the world, regardless of whether this guy enjoyed paid work to be put into an internationally acclaimed multimedia franchise involving ninjas and sorcerers or not. It's a subject matter the recent strikes targeted, so there's nothing wrong with him voicing his support on the matter.

When it comes to Mortal Kombat specifcally, I expect he'll be recast by the next game anyway, just like almost everyone has been for decades now and we'll never see his face again within the franchise. But as for now, I think he makes a good fresh take Quan Chi :)
This is a great post that deals with the nuances of this topic.
 

Shania Twain

That Don't Impress Me Much
I just saw him in two Lifetime movies released and heavily promoted and both of them aired right during the last couple of months and this month. He also has 6 upcoming projects. This is merely their way of promoting themselves during the actor strike which is now over. Both movies of which are going to be airing on the channel this month. They were on in the background but from what I saw seemed decent. They actually appeared darker in tone. Granted i'm sure he and the other actors were already paid for them when filmed.
 

Ray'sGoodLiquor

I don't care I'm not a competitive player anymore
This post is even worse. Should have stayed in the drafts.

Let me break it down for you:

That "voluntary" contract? Its actually more coercive than you might think. For one, the company that writes that contract up holds a disproportionate amount of power. They can write whatever terns they want so long as it's legit. Now this is normally where an agent comes in and negotiations happen until some kind of agreement is made.

But what if you don't have an agent or the ability to negotiate for better terms? Well then, you're locked into whatever terms are in that contract.

Now you might say to yourself, "Well they can just not sign and go somewhere else."

Sure. They could. Except the "somewhere else" employs many of the same tactics. You see this with writers and other positions in the film industry. If you're a smaller creator/model/etc, and you make your living off of creating/modeling/etc, you will have less bargaining power than say, a Brad Pitt.

And if your goal is to make a living in your chosen field - presumably a field you are passionate about enough to turn into a career - if you're not in a strong position to bargain because you're lesser-known or are just starting out, you're going to take the work you can get.

Everyone in the thread saying, "He signed a contract sucks to suck bro" don't seem to be aware of how complex and nuanced these sort of situations are.

If you look into the history of basically any creative field -including modeling- you'll find tons of examples where companies bought something from an artist/IP holder/etc for one flat rate, only to then make hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars more than what they paid for it.

Point is, there's a lot more to this than, "well he should work my laborer job to appreciate how easy his job is," or whatever bullshit you're on.

Worker's Rights.
Every industry needs to unionize.
TLDR your commie gobbledygook. This is a video game forum, not an avenue to promote or debate (shitty) political ideologies. Should have stayed on draft? Your tik tok tier quips are cringey and don't make you sound enlightened. They make you sound like a smug douche. Shuffle on back to reddit with the rest of the armchair activists.
 

Art Lean

Kombatant
If you go to his Instagram, you can see the whole video that includes these comments (it's the first one). He seems a really nice guy, he's posing with fans at a local store in the Quan Chi makeup and playing Mortal Kombat 3, he doesn't shy away from the fact that he thinks it's great to be part of the franchise, he’s simply raising a good point about the current concerns regarding the futures for actors.

 
Last edited: