SILENCE! How long before the lawsuit?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:11pm

Love the musical parody SILENCE! but seeing as how the version being presented at the Fringe Festival is listed as an "unauthorized" musical version of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, what are the odds MIRAMAX will shut it down? What is the precendence for something like this.

Hope it succeeds because it is a laugh riot.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:20pm

MB...just thought of something...can they get around this by contending it's a parody? This would be how Forbidden Broadway does its spoofs without obtaining rights, correct?

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:22pm

Parodies are highly protected. If The Wind Done Gone passed muster, I'm pretty sure this will.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:23pm

They probably get by with it under the parody laws. Forbidden Broadway and The Simpsons get away with it all the time.

"Since copyright law prohibits the substantial use of a copyrighted work without permission of the copyright owner, and because such permission is highly unlikely when the use is to create a parody, it may be necessary for the parodist to rely on the fair-use defense to forestall any liability for copyright infringement. However, the fair-use defense if successful will only be successful when the newly created work that purports itself to be parody is a valid parody."

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:24pm

Well Forbidden Broadway still has to clear musical rights. For a long time Andrew Lloyd Webber wouldn't let them use any of his music, and so they had to do pastiches of his scores to do parodies. Now they have permission to use the real deal, though I don't know if they have to pay royalties.

I'm not sure what the law says about parodying an entire film. I mean humorous or not, it is a musical adaption of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Somebody somewhere owns the legitimate rights to that.

I would imagine they would have to at least change the names of the characters to truly qualify as "parody."
Updated On: 5/17/05 at 02:24 PM

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:24pm

Ah, fair use. So blurry and hard to determine it makes me die a little inside.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:26pm

Is this at all similar to intellectual copyrights, like songs?

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 2:28pm

Yes- copyright is copyright is copyright, though fair use in terms of duplication applies slightly differently in different mediums.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 3:15pm

I'm positive the studio knows about it. But writing a parody and putting songs on a website is different then staging something and creating something that will generate substantial revenue.

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 3:17pm

I talked to a designer in FB who said that they don't have to worry baout copyrighted material.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 3:21pm

"Don't have to worry about copywrighted material?" That sounds like famous last words. Did he say why?

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 3:52pm

I don't think potential revenue is a pre-requisite for being sued, or else fanfic writers wouldn't be getting cease-and-desist letters.

But like I said, parody is very well-protected, as the case of The Wind Done Gone and others show. Besides, wasn't there a sock puppet Showgirls last year?
Updated On: 5/17/05 at 03:52 PM

[JakeB]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:22pm

Who cares about copywright - the show is hysterical.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:28pm

Well, sure, it's all good fun until you're looking at seven-figure settlement price.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:33pm

In support of what Plum has already stated:

"Parody is a usage of a mark that pokes fun at the mark and does not confuse the public as to the source of the usage. In determining whether there is infringement the court balances the public interest in free expression against the public interest in avoiding consumer confusion. "A parody must convey two simultaneous--and contradictory messages; that it is the original, but also that it is not the original and is instead a parody. To the extent that it does only the former but not the latter, it is not only a poor parody but also vulnerable under trademark law, since the consumer will be confused." From Cliffs NOtes, Inc. v. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 886 F. 2d 490 (2d Cir. 1989) "

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 4:49pm

I think URINETOWN is a good example of why people actually look pretty seriously at the Fringe Festival. It's gone past being the sort of campy one-time-out college festival that it once was.

And a parody of Gone with the Wind called say "Out with the Breeze" with characters named Ruby O'Ryan and Canolope Whites is different then having a full length musical called SILENCE, and keeping the characters named Clarice, Hannibal, etc. Basically the only way SILENCE is a parody is because the notion of turning SILENCE OF THE LAMBS into a musical is absurd. Other then that, there is not much to differentiate it from any legitimate musical adaptation.

I think its interesting because it could set a dangerous precedence. Why couldn't I than write a musical called PRETTY! and say its a musical parody of PRETTY WOMAN (never mind that Pretty Woman is a comedy to begin with).

That's why I'm curious about things like THE REAL LIVE BRADY BUNCH. That show played for years in NYC, LA and Chicago. It may not have made millions of dollars but it was certainly financially successful. I can't imagine any smart producer/author/or studio not stepping to the plate once money began being made.
Updated On: 5/17/05 at 04:49 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 5:01pm

I thought Sherwood Schwartz gave his blessing to The Real Live Brady Bunch and even appeared in it.

I think the tone of SILENCE! is so completely different from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and so obviously humorous that it would fall squarely in the parody category.

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 5:09pm

That's what we have judges for. To judge things. :)

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 5:10pm

Well the tone of SWEET CHARITY is a million miles away from NIGHTS OF CABIRIA....does that count as parody too?
Updated On: 5/17/05 at 05:10 PM

[Plum]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 6:18pm

That's adaptation, though. Different story; you usually need to pay for the right to do those.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 6:24pm

Yes of course. I'm just playing devils advocate a bit. Truly I love the concept recordings and look forward to seeing it at the fringe.

But you have to admit the entire thing raises some interesting copywright questions.

I understand the guidelines of parody, particularly when SNL or The Simpsons presents a four minute musical parody.

But doing a full length musical adaption of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS without changes to character or plot, simply varying in tone seems to me to be a much blurrier animal.

You could argue that SILENCE is as much an adaption of the original film as CHARITY is an adaptation of NIGHTS, or PROMISES PROMISES is an adaptation of THE APARTMENT. The tone for all three are markedly different then the source material.
Updated On: 5/17/05 at 06:24 PM

[QueenS]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 6:26pm

Last year, there was a musical version of "Top Gun" from Canada that played the Fringe. I don't remember all the details, but I'm pretty sure they were contacted when putting it together originally and told they couldn't do that, so they made it a show about putting on a musical version of "Top Gun" and that was okay... Fine, fine line.

The casting breakdowns list character names right from the movie. There's no subtle changing things here. But my favorite part is:

“Seeking an ensemble of strong comedic actors who can make bold choices and who are not afraid to go there. Actors must have strong vocal abilities and be comfortable around the “C” word…”

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 5/17/05 at 6:36pm

Thats great! I would think if they changed the names of the characters they'd be fine. As it is.... I'm not sure.

Ironically, there was some controversy when they were planning the original film of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS because a different film studio then ORION owned the rights to RED DRAGON and thus the rights of the character names. Ted Tally's early drafts of the screenplay thus had difference names for Clarice, Hannibal, Chilton and all the major characters.
Updated On: 5/17/05 at 06:36 PM

[Juliet2170]

Posted: 5/18/05 at 12:43am

go Chris Gattelli! i can't wait to see this