Around the Blawgosphere: 'Hangover II' Tattoo May Be Altered on DVD; Weiner's Behavior Harassment?
Tattoo in ‘Hangover II’ May Be Altered on DVD
The Hollywood Reporter blawg Hollywood, Esq. reported exclusively this week that Warner Bros. has told a Missouri judge in court documents that if litigation over the tattoo on the face of actor Ed Helms in The Hangover II and its promotional materials doesn’t settle by the time the film is set to be released on DVD, the studio will digitally alter the tattoo for the film’s home video version.
S. Victor Whitmill, the tattoo artist who created the same design for Mike Tyson, sued the studio in April saying that it pirated his work. A judge ruled in May that the film could be released as planned on May 26 despite the suit. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry set a trial date for Feb. 21, 2012. The home video release is scheduled for December.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, this case is probably headed for settlement way before trial,” Matthew Belloni wrote at Hollywood, Esq. To that end, he wrote, the judge has scheduled a private mediation for June 16.
Stupid, Yes; Sexual Harassment, No
At The Faculty Lounge, Bridget Crawford, who teaches feminist legal theory at Pace Law School asks this question about New York congressman Anthony Weiner—who sent sexually charged photos and messages to women on Twitter and admitted it in a Monday press conference after denying it previously: Is he a sexual harasser? She concludes that he isn’t.
“Let’s be clear that sexual harassment is not simply communication of a sexual nature,” Crawford wrote. “It is intimidating or unwelcome speech or action of a sexual nature that impacts someone’s work or educational environment. If one adult wants to ‘sext’ another in a nonwork/noneducation context, that may be stupid and it may reflect on the sender’s poor judgment, but it’s not sexual harassment, in my opinion.”
Meanwhile, on Twitter, TV talk-show host Conan O’Brien thanks to Weiner—and throws down a gauntlet.
“My thanks to Congressman Anthony Weiner for making my job so easy this week. Now it’s your turn, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
Video of Chuck Brodsky singing “Talk to
My Lawyer.”
Talk to That Folk Singer
In March, the tort law blawgs Drug and Device Law and Abnormal Use teamed up to exhaustively list all popular songs about the law. One from Abnormal Use’s list was “Talk to My Lawyer” by Chuck Brodsky, which was even a tort law song. The third verse:
I was trying to open up my map
when I spilled some coffee on my lap
How was I supposed to know it was going to be hot?
I went back to that fast-food place, to the manager with the happy face
I said, “I want the name of whoever brewed that pot.”
Abnormal Use interviewed Brodsky this week, and the folk singer told the blawg he wrote the song at around the time of the 1992 Stella Liebeck coffee case and that the case was part of the inspiration for the song, which he says is popular with lawyers.
“I’ve had law firms that have bought a copy of the CD with the song on it for all their partners and employees,” Brodsky told Abnormal Use. “I’ve never had any lawyers that didn’t laugh. Nobody has came up to me and has taken offense. Never meant to be offensive.”
