CEASE AND DESIST FROM JONATHAN FRID/2010 FEST DVDS DISCONTINUED

[joe integlia]

only a few people purchased the 2008 festival and that was even after favorable reviews by david nahmod in "scary monsters" and other magazines.

[Miranda]

Okay, Joe, then if your Fest videos are such a small market item, then how did the full contents of them get to be made known to JF?? I mean I think these Fest tapes (except as I said before MAYBE the Richard III presentation JF  did at the last Fest), to me put it in a different catagory from pirated videos of his one man shows, where it is clearly stated that no video taping is allowed...but maybe I don't know the whole story...

[joe integlia]

i doubt frid knew about it at all. however i did announce it here and someone reported earlier that frid comes to this board but i doubt it. there are fans out there that have nothing better to do but report these things to the stars to better themselves with the stars and to spoil the fun for the rest of us.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

someone reported earlier that frid comes to this board but i doubt it.

We don't keep track of how often members visit - either logged in as members or simply visiting as guests (which more members than one might suspect actually do) - but Frid and/or his representatives have and do check out the forum. We've gotten direct feedback from them - though nothing about this incident. However, it is possible that someone connected to Frid did see the announcement made here of the DVD. Or it's quite possible that someone reported the DVD to him/them after learning about it here or some other way.    The thing is, though, that someone who works closely with Frid these day is a copyright attorney, so the fact that crackdowns appear to be taking place now over things that may have been overlooked in the past is probably not all that surprising given that circumstance...

[Miranda]

I am sorry Nancy has not been able to accompany Jonathan to the last couple of Fests, but she did have the right idea as a number of us have agreed, with the suggestion that in the future videographers email JF on his website asking if they can tape things he does at future Fests ahead of time.  That being said, however, I don't know why this copyright attorney has to get involved as Jonathan has still had either his webmaster Mark with him or his nephew Donald with him at the last couple of Fests, I would think they would have been of enough help to Jonathan there, but who knows?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I presume Frid surrounds himself with the people he believes he needs to feel the most comfortable.

[B.Collins]

he does? than i do find it strange that he would have his attorney friend go with him. oh well if it makes him feel Comfy than i guess that's what's important ya know? anyways as for you remark on E.T. i agree the show isn't as good as it used to be.

the now have a habit of spending 95% of the show talking about the upcoming coverage  in the episode than they show it. & than show more upcoming etc.. show that well you get the idea & it's just iratating all to hell.  sorry for my bad spelling.

as for Frid, i do wonder how the guy even found out about it. if he does visit the boards i doubt he read every thread there is. even i don't do that. so my guess is someone reported to him. maybe even a cast member who as someone said comes here every now & than? i dunno i'm just guessing.

[Brian]

...there are fans out there that have nothing better to do but report these things to the stars to better themselves with the stars and to spoil the fun for the rest of us...

Just for the record...despite my previously-stated  position on this topic, and the fact of my employment in the entertainment industry...I have had no direct contact with Jonathan Frid.  (Full disclosure: in the past 30 years, I have enjoyed both personal and professional  interactions with other DS actors, and I would take the same position with regards to their rights to the commercial use/sale of their image, etc.)

[Nancy]

Joe, you've been selling your videos of the fests for years and years without any interference that I know of.  So have other fans.  For decades fans have been selling video coverage of the fests but without the performances by actors. 

With all due respect, it's very naive to think that JF hosts his website yet never visits DS-related websites to see what goes  on.  From the time I launched his website back in 1999, Frid has been aware of the message boards in all their variations. I've brought him to them when I visited him.  Consequently, his many relatives and webmasters have come to know about this message board in particular.  MPI even visits this website. 

In the past, I have encouraged fans to not purchase bootlegged/pirated items featuring Frid's one man show, etc. and charge an excessive price to avoid a major crackdown.  I've not discussed this current issue with JF as I am not involved with the website anymore but I know people who work with him DO visit here because we have discussed it in the past. 

The copyright attorney was brought into the website back when the first DVD was being produced by me.  She was initially brought into the fold because she has an extensive knowledge of Shakespeare, particularly Richard III, which I lack.  She does what I used to do and also at the festivals.  She has the time to give.  The fact the they are aware of the pirated one man shows and other bootlegged ventures featuring JF undoubtedly brought all this down as I predicted it would one day if fans continued to buy the pirated one man shows etc..  Personally, I would like nothing better than the festivals, including the Q&As, etc. to be made available to fans as a memento and also for those who can't attend the festival.  I'm disappointed this has happened though not surprised.

Frid has seen this site many times as I have brought him to it myself.  Ebay and other venues are monitored as well.  I used to do all that but, as I said, I don't anymore mainly because my life and priorities have changed over the past few years.  The best thing to do is to email him via the website and explain your position to him and why this is important to you.  See what happens. 

But let's not turn this into some conspiracy, which it is not.  If you think these sites are not regularly monitored/read by MPI and other interested parties (and have been since its inception) you are very much mistaken.  I know for a fact they do, and have.

Nancy

i doubt frid knew about it at all. however i did announce it here and someone reported earlier that frid comes to this board but i doubt it. there are fans out there that have nothing better to do but report these things to the stars to better themselves with the stars and to spoil the fun for the rest of us.

[David]

I can't speak from a legal standpoint because I'm not an attorney. But I am a writer--I contribute to many publications. Monster magazines, gay publications & even the Jerusalem Post, so I do have to deal with issues like this--quoting actors, publishing photos, etc.

Joe, talk to Mr. Frid & his attorney & work out a deal. It can be done, and it's not a hard thing to do.

[joe integlia]

a fellow ds fan just emailed me with some interesting news. she ordered the FRID 1 MAN SHOW DVDS from FRID'S website. The dvds arrived from a LAW OFFICE IN PHILADELPHIA! no doubt the same law office that sent me the CEASE + DESIST order! this just tells me that the lawyer is a fan or this letter was generated by a fan who works there. i believe it would be pointless to ask the lawyers permission to sell dvds with FRID in them. why would they grant permission? He or she is obviously involved in the distribution of DVDS and would just see my DVDS as competition.

[David]

Joe, why not ask the lawyer if they'd be interested in distributing a DVD of your Frid footage--you have some great stuff!

[Midnite]

Joe, I'm surprised that this surprised you.  As mentioned in Reply #30, the attorney is Frid's handler and like most DS Fest handlers, is also a fan.  The name even appears in the Forum's memberslist.

[Nancy]

Joe, as someone who has worked with Jonathan Frid for twenty some odd years, I can tell you that NOTHING is done on JF's behalf that he is not asked about and approves of first.  NOTHING.  He literally micromanages EVERYTHING directly related to him. (That habit plus things moving slower due to age is one reason I no longer wanted to give the time to the website, etc. anymore.  I  had too much else I needed the time for without those frustrations).  He approves any letters or email correspondence sent out on his behalf.  

 The DVDs are being mailed out of a US office to save fans the much more expensive cost from mailing the DVDs from Canada. That practice was adding ten bucks a pop to the sales.   The attorney in question is someone that I knew and worked with in Philadelphia and since she was also a big DS fan, asked her if she wanted to help out with copyright issues and creative things to do with JF's website.  She is also a big theater-goer and knowledgeable about Shakespeare.  The fact she is also considered one of the best intellectual property attorneys in the country is a big bonus for the many copyright issues the compilation of the DVDs involves.  

Joe, if you want to blame someone for the crackdown, blame the handful of fans who have been selling pirated copies of JF's one man shows and stage appearances.  That is undoubtedly what led to the crackdown.  Videos of JF at festivals have been sold for decades.  The pirating of his stage appearances is more recent.

Nancy

a fellow ds fan just emailed me with some interesting news. she ordered the FRID 1 MAN SHOW DVDS from FRID'S website. The dvds arrived from a LAW OFFICE IN PHILADELPHIA! no doubt the same law office that sent me the CEASE + DESIST order! this just tells me that the lawyer is a fan or this letter was generated by a fan who works there. i believe it would be pointless to ask the lawyers permission to sell dvds with FRID in them. why would they grant permission? He or she is obviously involved in the distribution of DVDS and would just see my DVDS as competition.

[Taeylor Collins]

Not making any comment at all on the quality of Jonathan Frid's performance as Barnabas (which I think was extraordinary) but can we please move beyond the myth that he "rescued a failing show"?  From posts shared here long ago, I recall that the ratings were pretty healthy during the Laura Collins Phoenix story and on into the run-up to the introduction of Barnabas.

Laura defintaley doesn't get the respect she deservers!