The “Hangover Part II” is experiencing its own cliffhangers.
The tattoo artist who created ex-boxer Mike Tyson’s facial tattoo is suing to block theatrical premiere of “Hangover 2” alleging copyright infringement because the distinctive tattoo appears in the film. The raunchy R-rated comedy is scheduled for Thursday premiere (at midnight) and the “Hollywood Reporter” says audience tracking surveys are predicting a boffo $100 million three-day opening in domestic weekend box office.
The “Hollywood Reporter” article says that Warner Bros. “dispatched two of its top executives to St. Louis on Monday to testify during a four-hour federal court hearing on whether a judge will issue an injunction preventing the planned Thursday rollout of the highly anticipated comedy sequel… According to sources who attended the hearing, the Warners execs told the court that the studio has spent roughly $80 million on marketing the sequel to 2009’s ‘The Hangover’ and that blocking the film’s debut in theaters would cause irreparable financial harm. Also, thousands of theaters are in the process of receiving the film.”
“The very copyrightability of tattoos is a novel issue,” the Warner Bros. Legal brief says. “There is no legal precedent for plaintiff’s radical claim that he is entitled, under the Copyright Act, to control the use of a tattoo that he created on the face of another human being.” The “Hollywood Reporter” article is by Matthew Belloni and Pamela McClintock.
UPDATE to story: A May 24 statement from Warner Bros. says, “Plaintiff’s failed attempt to enjoin the film in order to try and extract a massive settlement payment from Warner Bros. was highly inappropriate and unwarranted.”
Tyson appears in the film but is not a defendant in the lawsuit. The distinctive facial tattoo is also seen on actor Ed Helms’ face in the film, which appears to be the issue in the lawsuit.
News reports suggest that at least one NBA basketball star paid off an tattoo artists when the athlete appeared in ads with a distinctive tattoos visible. Nobody is suggesting the federal court in St. Louis will block the film’s release. A more likely scenario is Warner pays something to the tattooist to drop the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, another the “Hollywood Reporter” article says confidential studio tracking studies predict a $100 million opening weekend and “no R-rated film has ever opened to $100 million.” The 2009 predecessor is the top-grossing R-rated comedy of all time having grossed $277.3 million in domestic box office and $190.2 million internationally.
“Hangover 2” has lots of buzz and legions of fans that include ex-President Bill Clinton, who visited the set of the film during production and some news reports suggest Clinton will be seen in the film.
ANOTHER UPDATE May 24-A federal judge declined to issue a temporary injunction to delay “The Hangover: Part II’s” theatrical release but said he would consider a permanent injunction to block release to downstream media; the lawyer for the tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill reportedly suggested a $30m settlement from Warner to drop the case before losing the temporary injunction motion.
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