'Blade Runner 2049' Producer Sues Tesla, Warner Bros. Discovery (hollywoodreporter.com) 50
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Hollywood Reporter: A production company for Blade Runner 2049 has sued (PDF) Tesla, which allegedly fed images from the movie into an artificial intelligence image generator to create unlicensed promotional materials. Alcon Entertainment, in a lawsuit filed Monday in California federal court, accuses Elon Musk and his autonomous vehicle company of misappropriating the movie's brand to promote its robotaxi at a glitzy unveiling earlier this month. The producer says it doesn't want Blade Runner 2049 to be affiliated with Musk because of his "extreme political and social views," pointing to ongoing efforts with potential partners for an upcoming TV series.
The complaint, which brings claims for copyright infringement and false endorsement, also names Warner Bros. Discovery for allegedly facilitating the partnership. "Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk's massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account," states the complaint. "Alcon did not want BR2049 to be affiliated with Musk." [...] The lawsuit cites an agreement, the details of which are unknown to Alcon, for Warners to lease or license studio lot space, access and other materials to Tesla for the event. Alcon alleges that the deal included promotional elements allowing Tesla to affiliate its products with WBD movies. WBD was Alcon's domestic distributor for the 2017 release of Blade Runner 2049. It has limited clip licensing rights, though not for Tesla's livestream TV event, the lawsuit claims.
Alcon says it wasn't informed about the brand deal until the day of the unveiling. According to the complaint, Musk communicated to WBD that he wanted to associate the robotaxi with the film. He asked the company for permission to use a still directly from the movie, which prompted an employee to send an emergency request for clearance to Alcon since international rights would be involved, the lawsuit says. The producer refused, spurring the creation of the AI images. [...] Alcon seeks unspecified damages, as well as a court order barring Tesla from further distributing the disputed promotional materials. Musk referenced Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner movie during the robotaxi event. "You know, I love Blade Runner, but I don't know if we want that future," he said. "I believe we want that duster he's wearing, but not the, uh, not the bleak apocalypse."
I, Robot director Alex Proyas also took to X last week, writing: "Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?"
The complaint, which brings claims for copyright infringement and false endorsement, also names Warner Bros. Discovery for allegedly facilitating the partnership. "Any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk's massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account," states the complaint. "Alcon did not want BR2049 to be affiliated with Musk." [...] The lawsuit cites an agreement, the details of which are unknown to Alcon, for Warners to lease or license studio lot space, access and other materials to Tesla for the event. Alcon alleges that the deal included promotional elements allowing Tesla to affiliate its products with WBD movies. WBD was Alcon's domestic distributor for the 2017 release of Blade Runner 2049. It has limited clip licensing rights, though not for Tesla's livestream TV event, the lawsuit claims.
Alcon says it wasn't informed about the brand deal until the day of the unveiling. According to the complaint, Musk communicated to WBD that he wanted to associate the robotaxi with the film. He asked the company for permission to use a still directly from the movie, which prompted an employee to send an emergency request for clearance to Alcon since international rights would be involved, the lawsuit says. The producer refused, spurring the creation of the AI images. [...] Alcon seeks unspecified damages, as well as a court order barring Tesla from further distributing the disputed promotional materials. Musk referenced Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner movie during the robotaxi event. "You know, I love Blade Runner, but I don't know if we want that future," he said. "I believe we want that duster he's wearing, but not the, uh, not the bleak apocalypse."
I, Robot director Alex Proyas also took to X last week, writing: "Hey Elon, Can I have my designs back please?"
Designs are like Music (Score:2, Insightful)
Designs are a bit like music. It's hard to be completely uninfluenced by what has come before, and it's also hard to measure the amount of influence.
Re:Designs are like Music (Score:5, Insightful)
There is only a few simple ways things can be designed that make sense, comply with regulations, and also come off as modern. When Apple patented "A rectangle with rounded corners", this site's chorus was vehemently against that patent. Now, when Musk imitates art that came before him, we are suddenly all for these obtuse design patents? (pun intended). I think people are more or less for or against Elon Musk because his foray into politics are indeed polarizing; but that isn't what America is for. We are a melting pot, and many political points of view are different than one's own, but the same standards should apply equally. Either Apple was wronged when everyone copied the iPhone's design (they are still doing it with the "notch island") (they weren't wronged); or Musk is (like those who came after Apple, inspired by their designs. You can't eat your cake and have it too; just because you don't like the guy.
Re:Designs are like Music (Score:4, Informative)
The dispute is about the Tesla Robotaxi.
If you do an image search for the Robotaxi and the taxis in Blade Runner, the only thing they have in common is that they're both cars.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Are you fucking illiterate on top of everything else?
The Blade Runner 2049 claim concerns "promotional material" for a Tesla event. It is not about the "Robotaxi" itself (which frankly looks more like it was borrowed from a 1920s stageplay); it's about the scene composition being a direct lift of a scene from BR2049.
(Do not mistake this reply for interest in your opinion or anything you have to say. I am merely correcting your error.)
Re: (Score:3)
Thats fine. As a musician I agree wholeheartedly. The issue in this complaint however isn't about influence, which is wholely permssible, but plagarism, in this case with AI being trained on Blade Runner imagery.
Re: (Score:3)
Those women would've had babies anyway. If Elon hadn't impregnated them, someone else would've.
Citation? Who knows what women will do?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The AC above was being absolutely abject. I have no idea why you would side with that. Plus you insult someone who answered. Pathetic. I don't usually look for conflict here, just contribute my little information when I have one, but this thread is way above reasonable limits, even for a political topic.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
and now tell us what is theirs infant dead rate! sadly most of those kids don't reach adulthood
Re: (Score:2)
and now tell us what is theirs infant dead rate! sadly most of those kids don't reach adulthood
Infants are dying at a higher rate [cnn.com] since a woman's right to privacy was revoked by the Supreme Court.
Earlier research – spurred by a CNN investigative report - found that infant mortality spiked in Texas after a 6-week abortion ban took effect in 2021, and experts say the new data suggests that the impacts of the bans and restrictions enacted by some states post-Dobbs have been large enough to affect broader trends.
“This is evidence of a national ripple effect, regardless of state-level status,” said Dr. Parvati Singh, an assistant professor of epidemiology with The Ohio State University College of Public Health and lead author of the new study.
In other words, those who claim to be "pro-life" are really pro-birth because they don't care more kids are dying thanks to their efforts.
Re: (Score:2)
yep, that too, this show that religious may not actually mean more children
Re: (Score:2)
and now tell us what is theirs infant dead rate! sadly most of those kids don't reach adulthood
Infants are dying at a higher rate [cnn.com] since a woman's right to privacy was revoked by the Supreme Court.
Earlier research – spurred by a CNN investigative report - found that infant mortality spiked in Texas after a 6-week abortion ban took effect in 2021, and experts say the new data suggests that the impacts of the bans and restrictions enacted by some states post-Dobbs have been large enough to affect broader trends.
“This is evidence of a national ripple effect, regardless of state-level status,” said Dr. Parvati Singh, an assistant professor of epidemiology with The Ohio State University College of Public Health and lead author of the new study.
In other words, those who claim to be "pro-life" are really pro-birth because they don't care more kids are dying thanks to their efforts.
That's a bullshit study being cited by CNN for the usual political reasons. Here, from the article, an example, of the amazing work that went into it: "They found that infant mortality was higher than usual in the US in several months after the Dobbs decision and never dropped to rates that were lower than expected.". That means nothing.
Re: (Score:2)
Say goodbye to women's rights, gay marriage, and pretty much all liberal values.
You don't agree with any of that to begin with.
Re: How lovely to see the "champions" of free spee (Score:2)
I'm curious, when did copyright infringement become considered free speech in the US?
That must be very painful for the RIAA/MPAA. Have any of their lawsuits been dismissed on free speech grounds?
Re:How lovely to see the "champions" of free speec (Score:5, Insightful)
10 signs you might be in a cult
1) Absolute authoritarianism without accountability
2) Zero tolerance for criticism or questions
3)Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget
4) Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions
5) A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave
6) Abuse of members
7) Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group
8) Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”
9) A belief that the leader is right at all times
10) A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation
Considering.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
If your candidate wrongfully insists that legal immigrants are eating cats and dogs, then yes I would consider you an extremist. Your "enough babies" quote is also very telling. You mean white babies. While we're on the subject, infant mortality rose sharply in states where abortion became illegal. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/s... [pbs.org]
If republicans really cared about children they wouldn't be getting rid of things like school breakfast or giving poor people better access to healthcare.
Re:Extreme? (Score:5, Insightful)
I would never vote for Trump, but the presidential election is a coin toss [fivethirtyeight.com] which means you're calling somewhere north of 45% of the American population "extremist." That's absurd. People vote for candidates for all kinds of reasons even if they don't like them, and American presidential elections have very much been a combination of identity politics and "lesser of who evils" for a while now.
The "other side" is absolutely not evil. They have different priorities. Most of the people voting for Harris are doing it because abortion is their top priority, and most of the people voting for Trump are doing it because jobs are their top priority. That's literally the divide. And the majority of Harris voters are also concerned about jobs and the economy, and the majority of Trump voters don't care much about abortion. This is why republicans have been seen softening the abortion stance, and why the dems have been working so hard to win back labor voters. If you can't accept this basic feature of democracy then you're not living in the real world.
Stop demonizing the other side. They're not evil. Most people are genuinely decent. They're human beings, and if you were broke down on the side of the road and asked them for help they'd gladly lend a hand (both sides would). Stop dehumanizing them.
Re: (Score:2)
which means you're calling somewhere north of 45% of the American population "extremist." That's absurd.
So is MAGA.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I think they are more referring to his antisemitism and embracing of conspiracy theories.
Examples:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/17... [cnn.com]
https://www.reuters.com/techno... [reuters.com]
https://www.vox.com/technology... [vox.com]
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/t... [nbcnews.com]
https://www.politico.com/news/... [politico.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I'm not that familiar with all his views, except "freedom of speech" and "legalize pot".
Those are details. His main views are that he is the modern Messiah who will lead us to the Promised Land (Mars, apparently) where he will perform miracles equal to to those of Moses and Jesus Christ, like striking water from rocks and growing crops in human shit (he's obviously seen the film Martian); that he is the greatest genius that ever lived; and that everyone else is a fool. His disciples agree with these views, and seem to confirm the part about fools too.
Ah, the happy go lucky future of Blade Runner (Score:2)
anyone have a link to the images? (Score:2)
TFA doesn't have a link to the images. This is what passes as "news reporting" these days.
Re: (Score:1)
Did this producer invent the color orange? (Score:4, Insightful)
I looked at the linked PDF of the legal complaint. It contains a couple of exhibits illustrating the allegedly plagiarized images. They show a man standing in front of an orange-hued urban landscape, not dissimilar from those that occur in reality during wildfire episodes [wikipedia.org]
Claiming copyright infringement on generic images of orange skies would be akin to the producer of the movie "The Beach" suing anyone who prints images of a beach resort with white sands and turquoise waters.
Is the DNC behind this? (Score:2)
Felony (Score:2)
Filing a frivolous lawsuit like this should be a felony and carry up to 5 years in prison.