The AP reports that the spat between Woody Allen and American Apparel took a turn for the nastier Wednesday. The clothing company's lawyer said that their billboard couldn't have hurt Allen's reputation, because he's already wrecked it.
The actor doesn't want his face associated with the clothing company known for sometimes using very racy images in their ads. He's suing them for $10 million dollars, which was about two-thirds of the budget for his most recent film.
AA's lawyer, Stuart Slotnick, fired back, saying, "Woody Allen expects $10 million for use of his image on billboards that were up and down in less than one week. I think Woody Allen overestimates the value of his image.
"Certainly, our belief is that after the various sex scandals that Woody Allen has been associated with, corporate America's desire to have Woody Allen endorse their product is not what he may believe it is."
Slotnick said he wasn't being mean and that the scandals legitimately affect Allen's drawing power as a sponsor. He cited the Michael Phelps marijuana fiasco as proof of this.
Questions:
1) Is American Apparel allowed to use the image without Allen's permission? Can he restrict the use of his image (from his film Annie Hall), or can AA do what they please?
2) Can Slotnick's statement be considered a defamation of Allen? Or is it just mean?
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