Farewell to the fatsuit: the software that solves cinema's weighty issues

Goodbye to the corset and au revoir liposuction. A software package promises to slim actors on screen through the magic of digital technology alone. The German program is also capable of making thespians fatter or taller, and can even shape muscle tone and body shape, according to New Scientist. The makers also suggest that the kind of punishing regime undergone by actors such as Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull, or Christian Bale in Brad Anderson's The Machinist, to put on or lose large amounts of weight for a role might become a thing of the past. The new software would allow the actors to maintain a healthy bodyweight but appear skinny or corpulent on screen. The software is also being touted as the ultimate money-saver because advertisers won't have to shoot different actors to account for "standards of beauty ... across cultures".