Subject:
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Re: Why can't we have a Lando: Lego's Race policy
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.fun
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Date:
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Mon, 1 May 2000 18:02:29 GMT
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Viewed:
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173 times
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In lugnet.starwars, Lindsay Frederick Braun writes:
>
>
> Dave Schuler wrote:
>
> > In lugnet.starwars, Jeff Stembel writes:
> > > The minifigs *are* accurate. The Han Solo minifig is a minifig depiction • of
> > > Han Solo, just as Harrison Ford was a human depiction of Han Solo. The • minifg
> > > is not a depiction of Harrison Ford as Han Solo.
> >
> > One might argue that action figures or minifigs represent the actors who • in
> > turn represent the characters...
>
> Just a quick note here: TLC had better hope this isn't provable in a court of
> law! Didn't Harrison Ford win a case concerning his likeness in the _Indiana
> Jones_ movies and its transfer to a PC game? I think the case was settled • that
> Ford controlled his own face, and if it could be proven that he was • necessarily
> linked to the figure on screen, he needed to be given royalties for said
> appearance.
>
> However, that may just have been HF's deal with Spielberg; his deal with Lucas • may
> cover such direct portings of his image from the SW movies. I wouldn't be
> surprised of Lucas and Company had considered this possibility. Does anyone • out
> there know what the story is about the fight for the face?
>
> In any case, it's really kind of weird. I mean, who *doesn't* associate • Harrison
> Ford with Indy and Han, and how on Earth can you prove the necessary • connection
> (or, for that matter, alter something in such a way that it can suggest Han or • Indy
> without suggesting Ford)?!? Perhaps eating lots of pencil erasers will • eradicate
> the offending image.
>
> Ack, my brain hurts. Time for bed.
>
> best
>
> Lindsay
It's very strange how licensing works and what you can and can't do with an
actor's face. I'll give you an example from the Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
computer game (I was the producer and co-designer).
Large depictions where you could look at the picture and say, "Hey, that is
William Shatner as Captain Kirk" had to have approval by the actor. Not
Paramount, but the actual actor. In addition, we had little versions of
everyone that you could move about the screen (it was primarily an adventure
game in the classic computer sense). These didn't need any approval. Why?
These were small enough so that they could be anyone, not just Shatner or
Nimoy.
In one scene, Harry Mudd's face appears on the Enterprise's main view screen
(the late Roger C. Carmel). At the last second, Paramount points out they we
have to get the approval of Mr. Carmel's estate. That could take months, and I
have two weeks at best. So we changed his picture, first by adding a beard,
then a full head of hair. The answer: "Nope, it looks like Roger C. Carmel
with a beard. Nope, it looks like Roger C. Carmel with a toupee." My artist
was too darn accurate. We finally had to put him entirely in shadow (and
change the storyline slightly to reflect Mudd's paranoia on being identified).
But the little version of Harry Mudd remained.
So.....where am I going with this? The Lego figure is so abstracted, Billy Dee
Williams may not get approval of the likeness. Of course, the real test is how
much does Lego believe it's own stated policy, and how much is the public
willing to accept it? If Lego dodges a Lando figure entirely, it tells you
something (no to either or both of the statements in the preceeding sentence).
If they do Lando in anything but yellow, they have opened the floodgates in the
other direction. Personlly, I doubt you will see Lando and they hope not many
people notice.
Bruce
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