NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two artists sued NBC Universal and the creators of the network’s superhero drama “Heroes” in U.S. district court this week, claiming their work had been wrongfully copied on the television show.
New York-based artists Clifton Mallery and his wife Amnau Karam Eele charged in a suit filed on Thursday in Manhattan that “Heroes” creators based their plot line — about an artist who can paint the future — on a short story, a painting series and a short film the couple exhibited in 2004 and 2005.
A spokesman for NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., said in a statement the network believes the suit is without merit. “We intend to defend it vigorously and expect to prevail.”
The artists said in the lawsuit that two people who identified themselves as writers from NBC’s “Crossing Jordan,” which also developed by “Heroes” creator and executive producer Tim Kring, attended an April 2005 exhibition of their work at Hunter College in New York City. The two were believed to have taken copies of the couple’s work, the lawsuit said.
The artists said their work focused on an artist who paints the future and who specifically paints the destruction of two landmark buildings in New York City. They alleged this was “strikingly similar” to the character of Isaac Mendez on “Heroes,” whose paintings of the future depict an explosion in New York City.
“Heroes,” a serial thriller about a group of ordinary people who discover they have special abilities, has been credited with helping to boost NBC’s ratings this season.
So, when are they expecting lawsuits from the inventors of telekenesis, serial killers and flight? *rolls eyes*
It always did feel more like an artists concept or idea that had been forced into a screenplay format. Even now you can feel the story being written on the fly with no original arc or ending thought through. Producers saw that coming by setting up to bail on the original cast after one season.
A perceptive zeitgeist pitch is not always a good tv series.
Can anyone say “Dial H for Hero”.
Having an artist who can paint future destruction is not something they can sue over.
Having an artist who can paint future destruction and teams up with a dozen other people with supernatural abilities to stop it could be something they can sue over.
That’s like someone suing Stan Lee because the character of Uncle Ben was exactly like someone in their story who died.
If people won suits because of character similarities, we would have stopped having cop shows 20 years ago.
I could have sworn they had episodes like this on Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. Those were over 30yrs ago.
Any scifi fan can think of at least a couple pieces of prior art even if it WAS actionable, which it isn’t.
LOG ON TO: http://www.teevblogger.com
Click on to related: NBC GETS SUED OVER HEROES. And, read the comment from someone who has seen the NYC artists that are suing NBC.
QUESTION: Name the actor that played an artist that can paint the future before it happens in the comic book world, TV &; film industry 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,15,20,30,40,50,60, years ago?
ANSWER: There is none. Isaac Mendez is the first.
Now give me the name of the artist that can paint the future before it happens in the NYC art world, the American and the world art market?
ANSWER: There are only two artists and they’re known as the Twins.
I saw them at Hunter College and here’s an example of their divination art work before 9-11-01: There are 9 letters in the word Manhattan and 11 letters in the name Mohamed Atta. The name ATTA is in the word manhATTAn. The twins told the audience at Hunter College that Atta was sent to destroy the Twin Towers because whenever we look at the word manhATTAn we will always remember the name Atta and what he did to NYC on 9-11-01.
Now, does Tim Kring seem intelligent and talented enough to create art and a storyline on this level? Iin several interviews he claims that he didn’t even know who magneto of the X-Men was.
QUESTION: Ddid anyone on this blog see Atta’s name in manhATTAn?
I didn’t, until I saw the twins at Hunter College. As I’ve said on other websites, this lawsuit is going to blow Hollywood and the entire world away!
Makes me begin to believe Benology. People think he wrote the third season