CEASE AND DESIST FROM JONATHAN FRID/2010 FEST DVDS DISCONTINUED

[joe integlia]

I recently received a letter from a lawyer representing JONATHAN FRID. it was a request to stop selling the dvds i was offering recently of the 2010 ds festival. he objects to the performances of RICHARD III + THE GAME being included that he claims are copyrighted. i wrote back and offered to edit those parts out and frid would only be included in the handprint ceremony, the cast reunion and a q+a that took place after the RICHARD III performance. the lawyer wrote back saying that mr. frid also objects to the commercial exploitation of his performance at the cast reunion and other events at and in connection with the burbank festival. therefore, instead of editing the dvds even more, im just going to stop selling it entirely. ive taken down the website i was in the process of building for the festival. i will also be taking down the video on demand theatre i started. i know a lot of what mr frid is objecting to (especially the handprint ceremony) was a public event and he cant legally stop anyone from selling pictures/video but i would rather respect his wishes and stop selling it. 

[Willie Loomis]

ah, well. 

Just curious if he can do anything regarding this board and his inclusion here?

[Janet the Wicked]

Well, that's a bitter pill, isn't it?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Just curious if he can do anything regarding this board and his inclusion here?

Frid is a member of the forum and is well aware of what goes on here. 

[Willie Loomis]

Well, that's a bitter pill, isn't it?

he's always been ambivalant about his part.    I think this is the reason that show really tanked, with the whoel Bramwell thing.  I know it was on it's way out, but I think that signed the deal.   He was very poetic in his portrayal of Barnabas, (although sometimes the writers made him a bit whiney -- so he did his best), but I could see his desire to play other roles on the show, as I'm sure he had a range as big as the others.  would love to see him in Shakespeare. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

(Actually the ratings rose during 1841PT - and they began rising in advance of the announcement that DS was being canceled - so it wasn't just people returning to see how the show was going to end.  )

[michael c]

"exploitation"?

what a diva.

mr. frid enjoyed a very brief and rather odd fame that came to an end 40 years ago.

if his remaining fans want to enjoy his participation in this festival i can't see how he could possibly object to it.

besides isn't an event in a public place like a hotel ballroom beyond copyright?

[RachelDrummand]

*shakes head*

[Mysterious Benefactor]

besides isn't an event in a public place like a hotel ballroom beyond copyright?

It's not. Photo taking and videotaping have been banned at certain times at Fests for copyright reasons. And let's not forget that there was a huge bruhaha over '91's 25th Anniversary tape from MPI including Frid's reading of The Tell-tale Heart. So much so that the tape was pulled off the market and the majority of the contents of the tape only reappeared as part of '06's Vol. 26 of the MPI DVDs after restitution had been made and The Tell-tale Heart footage was edited out and replaced by footage of a Fest podium discussion by Frid about his history with DS.

[Brian]

Actually, Mr. Frid has the right to control the "commercial exploitation" of his image, whether in video or photography, even if such media were acquired during a public event.  Newscast and b-roll used to promote the actual event are one thing; sales by private parties of those images and video are another thing altogether.  If Mr. Frid (and any of the other actors/writers/techs/etc. of the show) were negotiated with and properly compensated for such sales, then this sale of materials might be allowed.  Sorry, but I have to agree that sales of pictures and video of the conventions and such is inappropriate and, possibly, illegal-- unless sanctioned by the promotors and participants in the event.  (Why do I say this?  I'm a union rep for actors [though not those represented by AFTRA, which covered DS], and this is one area I constantly have to police.)

Brian

[Sara Monster]

That's a shame. 

[David]

I think Joe should cut a deal with Frid, give him a percentage, and sell the discs.

[Lydia]

Thanks for the information, Brian; it's good to get it from somebody who's knowledgeable in the subject.

And it's also good to know that Frid still has teeth.  I extend my commiserations to joe integlia, however.

[joe integlia]

a lot of this could have been avoided if an anouncement was made about no videotaping allowed during what is considered a performance as has been done in the past. cutting a deal to share in the profits would not have worked because 1. i dont sell that many and 2. how could he monitor the sales? i would be honest about it but he would have to be a very trusting soul. i dont agree with the actors being able to control or object to pictures/video being sold from them being out in public especially if they are on the street like at the vista theatre. the paparazzi take and sell pictures/video of stars all the time and make a living selling the pictures to tabloids. theres a fan that photographed the d.s. stars in front of the abc studios. he has been selling photos for years at the fest and elsewhere.

[Nancy]

Part of what brings us to this place when Frid in particular has had footage of him at festivals sold without contest for two plus decades is that one or two fans over the past several years obtain and sell his one-man shows "underground" and make all the profit.  Someone sells Frid's stage performance of Arsenic and Old Lace for forty bucks.  He didn't get anything for that.  Do you think Frid was happy about his work being sold by someone who made the money?  It continues to be sold under the radar as do several of his one-man shows.  When I warned people over the years to not condone fans who do this, this is the outcome I was trying to avoid.  He's had enough.

Even if this guy were not a friend of mine, I would still say it's too bad a few people abused the copyright issue so badly that Frid now has to take a hard stand.  It's really a shame.


Nancy