Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury has said director Michael Moore did not ask to use his title for his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.
"That's not his novel, that's not his title," he said, adding that the film should now be renamed.
The 1953 novel, widely considered a masterpiece, depicts an ugly futuristic society in which firemen burn homes and libraries in order to destroy books.
The Palme d'Or-winning film will be shown around the US from 25 June.
Fahrenheit 451 takes its title from the temperature at which books burn. Moore has called Fahrenheit 9/11 the "temperature at which freedom burns."
Bradbury, who has not seen the movie, said he called Moore's company six months ago to protest and was promised that Moore would call back.
I'm hoping to settle this as two gentlemen
Ray Bradbury
Moore only called last week, Bradbury said, adding that Moore told him he was "embarrassed".
"He suddenly realised he's let too much time go by," the author said.
Joanne Doroshow, a spokeswoman for Fahrenheit 9/11, said the film's makers had "the utmost respect for Ray Bradbury".
"Mr Bradbury's work has been an inspiration to all of us involved in this film, but when you watch this film you will see the fact that the title reflects the facts that the movie explores, the very real life events before, around and after 9/11," she said.
Bradbury said he would rather avoid litigation and is "hoping to settle this as two gentlemen, if he'll shake hands with me and give me back my book and title".
Fahrenheit 9/11 will be released in the UK on 9 July.
Wait, so Moore didn't ask permission? Well now, isn't that just typical.
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Ask permission? I think there is a thing called "fair use"....
Devolution is quite as natural as evolution, and may be just as pleasing, or even a good deal more pleasing, to God. If the average man is made in God's image, then a man such as Beethoven or Aristotle is plainly superior to God, and so God may be jealous of him, and eager to see his superiority perish with his bodily frame.
"Oh no, oh yeah, tell me how can it be so fair
That we dying younger hiding from the police man over there
Just for breathing in the air they wanna leave me in the chair
Electric shocking body rocking beat streeting me to death"
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"I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
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Why? Bradbury has a legitimate complaint. Moore clearly is using elements of Bradbury's title in order to play on name recognition. He's also making money off of it.
Howedar wrote:Why? Bradbury has a legitimate complaint. Moore clearly is using elements of Bradbury's title in order to play on name recognition. He's also making money off of it.
That happens all the time in Hollywood. It's not strictly speaking illegal.
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"Really, I'm jealous of how much smarter than me he is. I'm not an expert on anything and he's an expert on things he knows nothing about." - Me, concerning a bullshitter
I don't know how it works for books, but you can't copyright the titles to movies.
So I'm wondering if it Bradbury has a valid legal claim to the name. The Day After Tomorrow shares a name with a book that has nothing to do with the subject and I don't recall any controversy about that. Especially since there are other books with the exact same title.
Seggybop wrote:Isn't it perfectly legal to use warped variants of commonly known titles? If it weren't, wouldn't a large amount of parodies/satires be criminal?
Oh yes. Besides, Bradbury probably only has the phrase "Fahrenheit 451" copyrighted, not any particular elements of it.
"Show me an angel and I will paint you one." - Gustav Courbet
"Quetzalcoatl, plumed serpent of the Aztecs... you are a pussy." - Stephen Colbert
"Really, I'm jealous of how much smarter than me he is. I'm not an expert on anything and he's an expert on things he knows nothing about." - Me, concerning a bullshitter
Who cares? Bradbury doesn't appear to be pissed off over any copyright issues. He's just mad that fatass used the title of his novel for his film, slightly modified.
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I'm studying for the CPA exam. Have a nice summer, and if you're down just sit back and realize that Joe is off somewhere, doing much worse than you are.
BlkbrryTheGreat wrote:Ask permission? I think there is a thing called "fair use"....
Nope, Moore is doing this for profit so fair use does not apply.
Actually, it is possible to claim fair use in a for-profit venture. The question is whether the usage constitutes potential "market substitution", and in this case, it would not. The key precedent-setting case for this concept involved a musical performer and a satirical parody of someone else's music, whose compositional elements were used without permission for the satire.
In other words, it is rude for Moore to use the title without asking Bradbury's permission but it is not illegal. Bradbury is just being a whiny bitch and a bit of a prick for so clearly threatening legal action. It would be like George Lucas suing anyone who's ever used "Darth" as a title for any character in any movie [EDIT: actually, George would have a stronger case since "Darth" is his made-up word].
Last edited by Darth Wong on 2004-06-21 02:13am, edited 2 times in total.
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Titles cannot be copyrighted. Bradbury would have no recourse in court against Michael Moore. And even if there were one, the title of Moore's film is clearly different from that of Bradbury's novel, and the subjects of the two works are totally dissimilar, so there would never be a makable case.
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Darth Wong wrote:It would be like George Lucas suing anyone who's ever used "Darth" as a title for any character in any movie [EDIT: actually, George would have a stronger case since "Darth" is his made-up word].
I thought Darth was Swedish or some such for dark?
"Oh no, oh yeah, tell me how can it be so fair
That we dying younger hiding from the police man over there
Just for breathing in the air they wanna leave me in the chair
Electric shocking body rocking beat streeting me to death"
- A.B. Original, Report to the Mist
"I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
- George Carlin
No it doesn't, Gandalf. Mörk is Swedish for dark, and svart means black. Dark is such a common word that I'd have heard if Darth was Swedish for it, even though it's not my native language.
Edi
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I agree that Bradbury has a legitimate complaint against Moore, but why did he wait this long before bringing it up? I mean, Farenheit 9/11's existence has been well known to the public for quite some time...
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"Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope." --P.J. O'Rourke
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Ma Deuce wrote:I agree that Bradbury has a legitimate complaint against Moore, but why did he wait this long before bringing it up? I mean, Farenheit 9/11's existence has been well known to the public for quite some time...
Ah, nevermind: I should have read the article more carefully...
The M2HB: The Greatest Machinegun Ever Made.
HAB: Crew-Served Weapons Specialist
"Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope." --P.J. O'Rourke
"A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." --J.S. Mill
Ma Deuce wrote:I agree that Bradbury has a legitimate complaint against Moore, but why did he wait this long before bringing it up? I mean, Farenheit 9/11's existence has been well known to the public for quite some time...
...Bradbury, who has not seen the movie, said he called Moore's company six months ago to protest and was promised that Moore would call back...
Ma Deuce wrote:I agree that Bradbury has a legitimate complaint against Moore, but why did he wait this long before bringing it up? I mean, Farenheit 9/11's existence has been well known to the public for quite some time...
Ah, nevermind: I should have read the article more carefully...
The M2HB: The Greatest Machinegun Ever Made.
HAB: Crew-Served Weapons Specialist
"Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope." --P.J. O'Rourke
"A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." --J.S. Mill
Edi wrote:No it doesn't, Gandalf. Mörk is Swedish for dark, and svart means black. Dark is such a common word that I'd have heard if Darth was Swedish for it, even though it's not my native language.
I remember my intellectual property course- Bradbury does not have a case. No reasonable person would conflate 451 with 9/11, and to suggest Moore should've asked permission is just silly.
DPDarkPrimus wrote:Wait, so Moore didn't ask permission? Well now, isn't that just typical.
Oh give me a break. I wasn't aware that the word "Fahrenheit" was the express legal property of Ray Bradbury. It's not his title, not his word, and aside from that, the book was published so long ago that the whole thing is public domain by now anyway. If he really expects Moore to change the title of the film at this point, he's just being a dick. He should be flattered that Moore named his film thusly.
Damien Sorresso
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