MGM wants to charge me ZAR 7000 for one still!

Trevor · July 29, 2023, 03:47:19 AM

$400 (around ZAR 7000) for one still for my book

Guess I won't be using it then.

claws · July 29, 2023, 04:38:20 AM

Well, Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 Billion so that money needs to come back again somehow

Trevor · July 29, 2023, 04:56:03 AM

Quote from: claws on July 29, 2023, 04:38:20 AM
Well, Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 Billion so that money needs to come back again somehow

Oy 😳🤣🤣🤣

I didn't know that Amazon bought MGM at all, thanks.

Virtual karma 😂😂🐢

Trevor · July 29, 2023, 05:10:24 AM

I was going to ask them about using a still from The Alamo which shows Laurence Harvey but I thought "Nah, same copyright holder." 😳🥴

Rev. Powell · July 29, 2023, 09:10:56 AM

Trevor, I don't know what your budget is but you should be able to buy an entire umbrella license for the price of that one still!

Trevor · July 29, 2023, 09:41:51 AM

Quote from: Rev. Powell on July 29, 2023, 09:10:56 AM
Trevor, I don't know what your budget is but you should be able to buy an entire umbrella license for the price of that one still!

MGM is an acronym forMONEY GIMMEE MONEY

They also said that if I use the still - a pic of Laurence Harvey from The Manchurian Candidate - as a promotional item, there will be additional costs for that, plus usage as an audio or Ebook. Then I also have to have something which is known as "talent clearance" meaning that an actor will get residuals for the use of their image in the book.

Laurence Harvey passed away in 1973 which will mean that I would have to pay residuals to his widow Pauline Stone so oy

ER · July 29, 2023, 10:03:26 AM

What would the legalities be of having someone sketch the images you want to use? Or an AI facsimile? I suppose the placing of stills in books has already long been ruled on and is not something you could argue "fair use" over?

Non-fiction writing is always a pain in the o-rings, man.

Trevor · July 29, 2023, 10:43:35 AM

Quote from: ER on July 29, 2023, 10:03:26 AM
What would the legalities be of having someone sketch the images you want to use? Or an AI facsimile? I suppose the placing of stills in books has already long been ruled on and is not something you could argue "fair use" over?

Non-fiction writing is always a pain in the o-rings, man.

Agreed: the local SA films rights claimant threatened me with legal action if I chose to use their stills without paying for usage even though the films are in public domain here and copyright can't be renewed.

I have tried to claim fair use as the book will be published in the US but no dice.

Rev. Powell · July 29, 2023, 02:22:30 PM

Quote from: ER on July 29, 2023, 10:03:26 AM
What would the legalities be of having someone sketch the images you want to use? Or an AI facsimile? I suppose the placing of stills in books has already long been ruled on and is not something you could argue "fair use" over?

Non-fiction writing is always a pain in the o-rings, man.

Sketching the scene is a no-no (derivative work). AI facsimile is probably a no-no but it's still an open question. You can't really have fair use in a commercial project.