Michael Jackson's Estate Complains About Dancing MJ Zombie In Game
from the beat-it dept
ReallyEvilCanine alerts us to the news that the game Plants vs. Zombies has decided to change its dancing zombie, because Michael Jackson's estate complained that the zombie looked too much like Jackson. It's true. The zombie is obviously designed to look like Michael Jackson, and my guess (details are lacking) is that the estate threatened a publicity rights claim over the use:Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: michael jackson, publicity rights, zombies
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He's dead
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You'd think that after Michael's death, and 27 years after its first release, the fact that it's still something to be homaged and instantly recognisable should be solace that Michael's legacy is not totally overshadowed by his private life. Apparently not, though at least in this case the complaint doesn't seem to be totally motivated by money.
However, I do wonder how many homages have been sued, or if this is just something following Michael's death. The prison dance movie from the Philippines and the end of Return Of The Living Dead Part 2 jump to mind as homages that are still available, I'm sure there's many, many more.
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Re:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/zx-spectrum/chiller_/cover-art/gameCoverId,82795/
Not a bad game for the £2 (approx. $3) I paid for it, but I bet MJ didn't see a penny... The legacy of the model is as strong as ever.
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scavengers
Actually from what Al Yankovic (and others) said in interviews about how relaxed MJ was, freely giving people permission to make fun of him I'd imagine he'd endorse the game. That a greedy estate would disagree is however no surprise.
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Thriller game
What IS the problem? I don't see one. Of course, Disney once sued an elementary school for using of one of its characters in a mural. I find this highly ironic. Disney is the last thing from original.
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Isn't the zombie a parody anyway ? I know I laughed the first time I saw one.
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wait...this isn't woot...
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Wrong!
Looks aside, there is a clear defense that this is NOT supposed to be Michael Jackson:
Toughness: Medium
Nope. Must be someone else....
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Re: Wrong!
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Rumor has it
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Re: Rumor has it
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greedy fools
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I could see a case....
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