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Or, for that matter, casting a youthful glow on an aging actor. In the case of next summer's Red Dragon -- based on the first book in the Hannibal Lecter trilogy -- Anthony Hopkins, 63, will have to appear younger -- and a CGI "face-lift" could do the trick. "He'll buy into it," says Randy Starr, VP of business development with Cinesite, which replicated a crowd to appear as a cast of thousands for the upcoming Ali. "It's no different than the software we've seen where you try on different hairstyles."

So far, audiences are sending mixed messages about their appetite for these CGI-jinks. Last summer, filmgoers loved Shrek but rejected the synthespians of the $137 million Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (which grossed just $32.1 million). Nobody blinked when the late Oliver Reed's head was digitally transposed upon an extra's body in Gladiator, but many balked when The Sopranos cobbled together a new scene with deceased actress Nancy Marchand last season.

As for Houston, few express qualms about the sprucing up of her appearance. "It's [just] concert footage," shrugs Nancy Bernstein, senior VP of feature films at F/X giant Digital Domain.

The question often hinges on the seamlessness of the execution and the quality of the story the CGI is helping to tell. "This is entertainment," says Kleiser. "There have been sleights of hand since the beginning of moviemaking, and nobody's ever been forced to divulge how they did it."

(Additional reporting by Brian Hiatt)