I wonder if the AI makers have their permission to use the likeness in this fan fiction "remake" ( or trailer for a remake ).

is just someone who typed in a few words as a prompt and probably discarded lots of much-worse AI results before getting one that looked halfway decent.

Zero talent being displayed, minimal creativity (the creativity is in actual creation, not a minimal suggestion of a variation), contempt for the real artists being ripped off (AI artists are well aware how real creators feel about having their work stolen), and devaluing of art overall, with the AI companies that stole all that intellectual property wanting to control it, to sell mimicry of real creativity to businesses happy to replace real artists with cheaper AI, even if it's vastly inferior to real art. There are also businesses now offering much less compensation to real artists with the threat that they'll be replaced by AI if they don't accept much lower pay.

I was looking for specific first hand knowledge of the status of some of these actors, for example the actor that played the priest Father Vito Cornelius ( Ian Holm of LOTR fame, etc ) who has been dead now 4 years. Did the AI creators get permission to use his likeness in this bit of fan fiction from his estate? If you know that is the case, then tell me, otherwise, I want to hear from the AI makers or someone that knows.

didn't get it when they ripped off the photos and videos for their AI.

If you want to ask the YouTuber making money from theft, you'll have to ask him directly. He isn't likely to be aware of your asking such a question here.

But it would be major news if any such creator had formally requested permission to use an actor's likeness for AI slop like this, and this AI-using fake artist would also have needed a lot more permissions than that one. Something like that would get media attention from publications like TechCrunch and The Verge and would be cited a lot in discussions of AI and intellectual property rights.

And you can bet the AI fake artist who created that clip would have boasted that he had permission.

The AI companies have already admitted they simply ripprd off whatever they could get their money-grubbing hands on because it would have slowed them down too much to get permission and cost them too much to compensate the intellectual property owners. That was the original theft. Many of the people using AI text and video generators to amuse themselves and pretend to be creative might have little or no idea who the actors being copied are.

of what the fan is inspired by, and a serious commitment of time.

The YouTuber making money ripping off films via AI could very well just be picking popular films to get maximum views and income. They're doing this for money.