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San Francisco, 5:27 PM
Sat Dec 19
18 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    02:54 PM

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    I watched Alien again last night, and I'm amazed by the quality of the script. It's like a Howard Hawks movie, in that it's really driven by the dialogue. It could almost be a play.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of SJ_Edwards SJ_Edwards
    09:33 AM

    In reply to British Court: Stormtroopers Don't Belong To Lucas
    I think it helps to use the phrase "Arts and Crafts" to delineate what has happened here, and why.

    Whatever is the product of 'Art' (I won't even attempt to define that, but there are plenty of possible definitions here [en.wiktionary.org] ), is protected by 'copyright' for 70 years (if it was considered to be sculpture, in this case).

    Whatever is the product of 'Craft' (much 'easier' to define [en.wiktionary.org] ), "the skilled practice of a practical occupation", is protected by 'copyright' for 15 years.

    What appears to have swung the judgement, is the fact that although Andrew Ainsworth was an 'industrial designer' when he was employed to produce the Stormtrooper helmet back in '76, he was not paid to exercise this 'art'.

    Instead he was paid only for producing the product of this 'art', in the form of a rate of £20 a piece, for 50 helmets.

    Because they didn't treat him as an 'artist' and pay him for his 'art', what they got wasn't art.

    It was the 'product' of a 'craft'.

    This is a colossal win for 'artists' of any sort, producing any sort of 'art' for pay.

    If they don't treat you right (and pay you right) at the beginning, they don't get treated right (and payed right) at the end.

    FTW!
     Reply
    Edited by SJ_Edwards at 12/19/09 9:48 AM SJ_Edwards was starred SJ_Edwards was unstarred
    Image of OCEntertainment OCEntertainment
    10:53 AM

    @SJ_Edwards: Fantastic explanation, thank you.
     Reply
    OCEntertainment was starred OCEntertainment was unstarred
    Image of ThisDudeRufus ThisDudeRufus
    09:06 AM

    In reply to British Court: Stormtroopers Don't Belong To Lucas
    People seem to be missing the point. Who cares about the nitpickey bits of copyright law, this means they're going to make Stormtrooper costumes on the cheap! And without fear of the thunderous hand of Lucas crushing them!

    What about clone trooper armor? Mandalorian? The bounds are endless!
     Reply
    ThisDudeRufus was starred ThisDudeRufus was unstarred
    Image of tetracycloide tetracycloide
    08:54 AM

    In reply to British Court: Stormtroopers Don't Belong To Lucas
    this article minces a few words in its report. the stormtrooper from star wars was not deemed utilitarian. the stormtrooper replica helmets that an independent british man was making were deemed utilitarian and not art. the guy made the helmets for lucas and the star wars film, his props were used in the movies, and he retained the mold he made himself to spec from lucas. he already lost a case in california to the tune of 20 million. the ruling establishes the creation of props as a utilitarian adventure, however the usage of the image would still fall under 'art' as defined by british law. it's a little hairy but it's as if the court ruled the the man isn't breaking the law by creating and selling the helmets but anyone that buys them would have to be really careful how they used them to avoid breaking it.
     Reply
    tetracycloide was starred tetracycloide was unstarred
    Image of Communist Pope Communist Pope
    07:45 AM

    In reply to British Court: Stormtroopers Don't Belong To Lucas
    While I think that the post-Millennium Act (or whatever it's called) went too far in protecting copyrights, I completely disagree with this court's ruling. What if, instead of live action movies, Lucas made animated films or a series of comic books using Ralph McQuarrie's original designs as the basis for his Stormtroopers? Would it be considered art then? McQ's design here: [www.originalprop.com]

    Anyhow, not the first court ruling I've disagreed with, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
     Reply
    Communist Pope was starred Communist Pope was unstarred
    Image of jayntampa jayntampa
    07:41 AM

    In reply to British Court: Stormtroopers Don't Belong To Lucas
    I'm pretty sure this only applies to the look/design. So, you couldn't have a Meet the Stormtroopers show based in the Star Wars universe ... you could simply have a character that is dressed as a Stormtrooper, but the first time you begin to riff off of the still copyrighted movies/books/comics/etc, you're at risk.
     Reply
    jayntampa was starred jayntampa was unstarred
    Image of Davio Davio
    07:30 AM

    In reply to British Court: Stormtroopers Don't Belong To Lucas
    awesome tag.
     Reply
    Davio was starred Davio was unstarred
    Image of joetato joetato
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    He's actually not Sgt. Pinback, but I'll leave that tidbit for the folks who haven't yet seen Dark Star. Some call it slow, I call it hysterically brilliant! Remember, it was made before Star Wars, so Trek, Silent Running, and 2001: A Space Odyssey were the main sources of sci-fi for that era.

    Benson, Arizona the same stars fill the sky. The nights seemed so much kinder when we watched them, you and I. R.I.P.
     Reply
    joetato was starred joetato was unstarred
    Image of SJ_Edwards SJ_Edwards
    10:28 AM

    @joetato: Amen.
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards was starred SJ_Edwards was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    We have used the line "When I brought you onboard, I thought you were cute" in so many situations over the past decade.

    He will be missed indeed. SF movies wouldn't be what they are without him.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    I'd forgotten about his involvement in the Jodoworsky Dune. Now *that* was a batsh*t crazy production. (Sample tidbit: Salvador Dali was supposed to play the emperor. He demanded that he be paid more than any other actor to that point, even though he would only be working for a day. Seriously - google this. It would have been the most insane movie ever made)
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    Thinking about it, O'Bannon is responsible for many of the things that scared the crap out of me the most as a young'un. Even as an adult, I saw his zombie airman segment in Heavy Metal and it freaked the hell out of me. He was definitely on the vanguard when it comes to zombies and body horror.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Cash907Censored Cash907Censored
    12/18/09

    In reply to Exclusive Clip From Family Guy's Empire Strikes Back Has A New Lando
    Just watched it last night.

    Didn't laugh once, and I loved Blue Harvest.
     Reply
    Cash907Censored was starred Cash907Censored was unstarred
    Image of Plague Plague
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    Massive loss.
    ROTLD was pure, unadulterated genius.
     Reply
    Plague was starred Plague was unstarred
    Image of Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H. Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.
    12/18/09

    @Plague: As was Lifeforce. The man was truly a genius.
     Reply
    Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    @Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: I've heard Lifeforce was ruined by studio meddling. I never saw it, just remember it as "the Naked Space Vampire movie."
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    @Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: Also, you might chuckle at this.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H. Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.
    12/18/09

    @Wookie1972: Lifeforce "ruined"!? You mean it could've been even better? Seriously, I do love that movie. I guess for some Naked Space Vampire Movie is a negative. Not for this guy.

    And I did get a chuckle out of that until they showed Riker smirking at the viewscreen at which point it turned into a full on LOL.
     Reply
    Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    Sigh. I was just thinking about how everybody gives Cameron credit for Aliens, and if after that Giger. O'Bannon was the true author.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of John Hazard John Hazard
    12/18/09

    @Wookie1972: Cameron deserves the credit for the awesome AlienS. It was the respectable sequel to the hard to follow classic Alien that O'Bannon, Giger, Ronald Shusett, Ron Cobb, Moebius, Ridley Scott and others.

    Nitpick!
     Reply
    Wookie1972 promoted this comment John Hazard was starred John Hazard was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    @John Hazard: Nonetheless, I've heard people say how Cameron "made" the Alien franchise, which really annoys me (yes, I fully admit, I don't like the guy) which ignores the fact that the first movie was a colossal hit, and the first major horror/sci fi combination.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of John Hazard John Hazard
    12/18/09

    @Wookie1972: Yeah, well peoples is STUPID! But you know that, you're a Wookie!
     Reply
    John Hazard was starred John Hazard was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/18/09

    @John Hazard: Fair enough. It just bugs the hell out of me when *some* act like Cameron took this little cult movie and made a big sequel to it. The fact is that Alien was HUGE when it first came out. I was way too young to see it at the time, but I remember the iconic posters and people talking about the chest-bursting scene. I actually saw Aliens first, but when I saw the original, it was kind of like seeing 2001 after seeing 2010: improved FX did not make for a better movie.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    12/18/09

    @Wookie1972: Couldn't agree more. The first one was the real breakthrough.
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of firstofnormalin firstofnormalin
    12:44 PM

    @Wookie1972:
    Who borrowed the idea of an acid blooded outerspace alien who lays eggs inside the crew members like a predator wasp from A.E. van Vogt.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 promoted this comment firstofnormalin was starred firstofnormalin was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    02:34 PM

    @firstofnormalin: Didn't know that. Cool. Van Vogt is from my hometown. ALthough I read that one of the influences on the "chest burster" was his battle with Crohn's disease.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of LittleDragon LittleDragon
    12/18/09

    In reply to R.I.P. Alien Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon
    RIP. Your talent is valued and will be remembered.

    (on side note I really need to watch this clip's movie. Attacked and tickled by a giant beach ball)
     Reply
    LittleDragon was starred LittleDragon was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    12/18/09

    @LittleDragon: You haven't seen "Dark Star"? :O

    OMG! Go rent it before I petition to have your star taken away!
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of LittleDragon LittleDragon
    01:23 AM

    @Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: Its not my fault. I was young. I didn't know. It is on my netflixs list now. Have a heart. Didn't you ever do anything foolish?
     Reply
    LittleDragon was starred LittleDragon was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    02:35 PM

    @LittleDragon: I saw it a long, long, long time ago on TV late one night. Only line I remember is "we just got your last transmission. Got great reviews in the trades."
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
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