J.Lo Sued for Video Mimicking 'Flashdance'

[TexasStooge]

NEW YORK - Jennifer Lopez is being sued for copyright infringement for her video "I'm Glad," an homage to the 1983 film "Flashdance," by the real-life welder and dancer who was the inspiration for the film.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges Lopez illegally depicted the life of Maureen Marder. She had refused to grant sequel rights or to permit any further use of her story or identity after the film became a success, according to her attorney Robert Hefling.

"She is penniless, disabled with a spinal injury, and trying to raise a teenage daughter," Helfing said in a news release. "Now her life story is on the screen again — and other people are profiting from it — with no acknowledgment of her rights, let alone fair compensation for her contribution."

The lawsuit claims that Lopez and her label Sony didn't have permission to make the 2003 video, which re-created distinctive scenes from the movie.

Marder is also seeking profits from Paramount and wants to be declared co-author and co-owner of the movie and screenplay copyrights.

Hefling said "Flashdance" owes its story to Marder, but she received only about $2,300 for the film while the movie helped launch the careers of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Adrian Lyne and writer Joe Eszterhas.

[GalvestonDuck]

Ha!

Until just about three or so years ago, screenwriters only received credit under "Screenplay by..." or "Written by...." The producer got dibs on "A film by...." Furthermore, screenwriters only received their initial payment from the prodco. No royalties, no rights to editing or casting or anything like that unless their contract and/or role in the production allowed for more. Now, finally after a long battle, screenwriters are also entitled to a cut of the film's boxoffice take.

She made her deal years ago when she "inspired" the story and Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas wrote it. If she didn't get it in writing then, it's too late for her to come after it now. "Co-author...with screenplay copyrights?" Give me a break! After she studies Aristotle, Field, Hunter, and the rest and after she is able to scribe an outline, treatment, and 120-page properly-formatted screenplay with plot points, well-developed characters, and smooth flow, then she can write her own version of her life and get credit for it.

As far as any lawsuit goes, maybe, just maybe, Paramount should sue Sony and Lopez IF they feel their copyright to the film has been infringed upon. Stopping copyright violation and piracy in their own backyards would be a good place to start if they want to also do away with online pirates.