The Hollywood Reporter says Warner Bros. has settled Missouri tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill's lawsuit over the ink appearing on Ed Helm's face in the sequel. Whitmill claimed that he was the victim of copyright infringement because he had originally created the tattoo design for boxer Mike Tyson, who appears in both films.
Both Warner Bros. and Whitmill are keeping the terms of the settlement
quiet, but given that the film has now made close to $500 million worldwide
at the box office and is the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time, we're
assuming that Zach Galifianakis personally drove a dump truck filled with
cash to Whitmill's house.
Because a copyright is a copyright, and it'd be awfully hard to argue that the tattoo isn't a takeoff of Tyson's -- the former champ is in the movie -- the suit seems to have merit. Warner Bros. executives even discussed digitally altering the tattoo in future DVD releases, leaving Helms disfigured but not nearly in such a comedic way. Thankfully the suit was never in danger of altering the plot point in which Helms has an excellent chance of contracting HIV just before presumably consummating his marriage and, therefore, murdering his new, unsuspecting wife. That was the funniest part, I think. Oh, Wolfpack. So many wacky misunderstandings.
Showing 1-1 of 1
While I think your view is totally valid I could also see this as a work of parody, because the point is obviously to make fun of the face tattoo, and Mike Tyson. Parody and Satire are not infringements (depending on the judge or if it is at all related to Disney). http://bit.ly/mIT7Fv
like
dislike
