William Faulkner sues Woody Allen?
If we had any doubt that, as William Faulkner said, 鈥渢he past is never dead,鈥� this news should put our doubts to rest.
In a lawsuit dripping with irony, William Faulkner鈥檚 estate is suing Sony Pictures for a 10-word line in the 2011 Woody Allen film, 鈥�Midnight in Paris,鈥� for what it claims is unauthorized use of a line from the late Faulkner鈥檚 鈥淩equiem for a Nun,鈥� published more than 60 years ago.
In the movie, modern-day Hollywood screenwriter Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, is transported to the past, where he mingles with literary greats of yore. After one such scene he states, 鈥淭he past is not dead. Actually, it鈥檚 not even past.鈥� He goes on, 鈥淵ou know who said that? Faulkner. And he was right. And I met him, too. I ran into him at a dinner party.鈥�
The original line appeared in Faulkner鈥檚 鈥淩equiem for a Nun,鈥� published in 1950. It states, 鈥淭he past is ever dead. It鈥檚 not even past.鈥�
Faulkner Literary Rights, the company that controls the late author鈥檚 works, said Thursday that those 10 words uttered by Wilson鈥檚 character violates copyright and that Sony Pictures did not seek permission to use the quote.
According to the , the suit charges, 鈥淭he use of the infringing quote and of William Faulkner鈥檚 name in the infringing film is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, and/or to deceive the infringing film's viewers as to a perceived affiliation, connection or association between William Faulkner and his works, on the one hand, and Sony, on the other hand.鈥�
It asks for 鈥渄amages, disgorgement of profits, costs and attorney fees.鈥�
As reports, 鈥淸This] sort of frivolous and somewhat ironic legal action ... would seem more at home in an Allen movie than about it.鈥�
Forget the fact that the quote is paraphrased, that it鈥檚 only 10 words long, and that the author is attributed (all of which would suggest the quote is covered by fair use).
The suit alleges that 鈥渁udiences 鈥� at least those who even remember the single line of dialogue that references Faulkner in the centre of a film that features far more heavily at least a dozen famous creative names 鈥� are so finely attuned to the nuances of dialogue but so wilfully obtuse about the workings of a Hollywood script, that they will believe Faulkner and/or his estate signed on to the film,鈥� reports The Age. 鈥淢oreover, the massive contribution that one line of dialogue had to the film entirely warrants a chunk of the profits.鈥�
The film, which was released nearly a year and a half ago, follows a modern-day Hollywood screenwriter (Owen Wilson) as he travels back in time to the roaring 鈥�20s, where he mingles with some of the period鈥檚 great American authors like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and yes, Faulkner.
More to the point, 鈥淢idnight in Paris,鈥� is Woody Allen鈥檚 highest-grossing film, with box office returns of $151 million worldwide, according to .
On Friday, Sony said in a statement 鈥淭his is frivolous lawsuit and we are confident we will prevail in defending it. There is no question this brief reference (10 words) to a quote from a public speech Faulkner gave constitutes fair use and any claim to the contrary is without merit.鈥�
Somewhere, Faulkner must be laughing at the irony of it all.
