August 26th, 2009 -- Written by Rodney
With the highly anticipated Avatar finally showing its footage this summer, the comparisons to the failed animated Delgo were fast to make it around the net.
Now it seems that the producers of Delgo are in fact considering their legal options and might just sue James Cameron’s Avatar.
Worst Previews quotes:
Fathom has been bombarded with emails on the topic and have now released a statement that says that the studio may actually consider suing. “From what we have seen, we are amazed by the visual similarities between the two films and we are reviewing what legal options may be available to us,” said the statement.
Now while it has been pointed out that Avatar was in development in 1996 and was to be the film that would be James Cameron’s followup to Titanic (which Ironically it is). There seems to be some proof that Cameron’s Avatar predates the 1998 birth of Delgo.
However Cameron’s team started working on the visuals and production began after a script rewrite in 2006.
They may just have a case here if the courts deem there is enough similarities.
And it may be the only way that Delgo could recoup some of its money after the $40million film raked in an embarassing $700,000 take at the boxoffice.
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Lmao is this not the most ironic thing EDVER!?!?!?
Isnt Delgo like the worst movie ever? Didnt it get like 5 mil on its first week??
And Avatar on the other hand, is going ot get its own DAY.
This is like it was made up. Too good.
Watch Delgo sue Avatar for like a 100$ million.
5 mil?,it got about $10,000 on its opening weekend.
My dad gets 8 times that money a year. That’s impossible.
Are you serious? Whaaaaaattttttt?
lawl your dad
Lol I agree it’s silly. The Delgo producers just want money they never made on the film.
Undoubtedly.
Or perhaps they want to sue over a movie a lot of people are saying ripped them off.
That your property was a failure has nothing to do with the law deciding they ripped off your idea. If they persue this, it will certainly be about money but it won’t be about “money they didnt make”.
I don’t see how it couldn’t necessarily be.
Oh goodness, isn’t this a bit of a stretch?
Totally. Just look at that picture. Those characters don’t look ANYTHING alike. The NOSE is different, the EYES are different, the EARS are different, the MOUTH is different, the CHIN is different, the NECK, the FOREHEAD, the EYEBROWS…I’M NOT SEEING ANY SIMILARITIES SO WHAT ARE PEOPLE EVEN TALKING ABOUT??!!!???!!!????!!!???!!!
*gasps*
If anything, the chimps should sue Delgo.
dude are you serious??? there was a post about this a couple days ago on here. It’s not about how the fuckin CHARACTERS look…(I’m sorry but fuckin DUUHHH!!) it’s about how several shots look so damn similar it’s ridiculous. Keep up, buddy.
I recall several people mentioning that the aliens in Avatar were ripoffs of Delgo, and that was what I was addressing.
That’s because people are fucking stupid.
Aside from the fact that those pictures were two of the side-by-side comparisons you were talking about.
uuuh yea that wasn’t about how each character looked alike; that was to show how both shots were very identical and that’s all. It was never about how the characters were somehow the same in look. ever.
In that case, half the shots(not all, but many) depict events that are both necessary and superficial in any film. You can’t go, “Two lovers in this film are hugging each other! Ripoff!”
I don’t think they have a leg to stand on, if you try hard enough you could probably make a snarky screenshot comparison thing for almost any two films. The visual designs are not carbon copies by any sretch and the stories have nothing in common. What’s more, why the hell would James Cameron spend 300 million dollars to copy something that was an infamous bomb?
I agree with MJS here. You can probably take two completely irrelevant films, compare them, and find poses and scenes that are close in style, decore, shot, etc. This won’t lead anywhere except to hold up Avatar’s release.
I don’t think it will even hold up the release. Wouldn’t it be a cool contest to see if people can do similar things with two different movie screenshots?
hey thats not a bad idea. on the blog guys can try and find 2 diffrent screenshots and upload them nice one matticus
Delgo might make some money after all!
This just made my day.
I have a shiny object for you
You messed with the wrong magpie!
Rodney,
Legally they have to prove intent not just the act of plagiarism. I highly doubt Cameron would knowingly steal and any similarities are just happenstance. Happenstance does not a legal claim make.
Copying something then selling it IS intent.
Music, Movie and TV is challenged all the time when a happenstance places them in this same position.
Some win, some dont.
This is not going to happen. Look how long The Asylum has been doing more deliberate rip offs without a court case.
IT’s just sad that people will sue over the dumbest thing.
Camron was sued for Terminator 1,and 2
really???? for what???
Let me just point out that if “FATHOM” is the company or whatever behind delgo… then that interesting, because James Cam was the desired director of the “FATHOM” comic book movie by artist Michel turner back when he was alive. The comic is about a girl born from an underwater race. thus james “titanic” cameron would have fit perfectly…
so i can just imagine a situation where he or someone said way back when.. hey lets google fathom and see what comes up, and the team making delgo comes up… inspiration strikes. and avatar is born. just saying…
OH YEA ALSO…
Avatar is a freakin LOT like the comic Ekos from what i recall, also by the late michael turner.
Bwahahahaaaaaaaaa!
I think this just smacks of desperation from the makers of Delgo, although I’m sure they are just courting whatever publicity they can muster. The pictures above don’t even support this argument as the nose, eyebrows, ears, skin colour don’t resemble one another. Its time for the makers of Delgo to put their collective tails back between their legs and dissapear I think.
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE FUCKING CHARACTERS!!! What the hell is wrong with people???!!! Its about several screen shots from both movies looking almost identical! KEEP THE FUCK UP.
You have said that already I think. The thing is, similar shots does not make a ‘rip-off’. Those shots are logical and typical ways of shooting such things. Unless the kissing scene was filmed from a helicoptor or whatever, there really isn’t much to change. Riding a dragon only really has a few heroic shot options. Shooting with the camera jammed up the lizards ass isn’t one, though it would have been original and avoided legal action. How about someone start comparing shots of Avatar to a dragin movie, Lord of the Rings, Dances with Wolves, Starwars and so on. What we are dealing with here are archetypes and coincidences.
I don’t see how the characters look anything alike. And even if they did, why didn’t the folks who made 1987’s “Lost Boys” go after the “Buffy” folks for stealing the high cheekbone, pale face, contact lens vampire look?
Because it’s different characters? Different story?
Better yet, let’s say there are likenesses (I’m sorry, cities and stones with cloudy skies DON’T CUT IT) -did James Cameron have access to Delgo’s animation department at the same time he went on his hundredth Titanic expedition? Did Cameron have access to the storyboards of Delgo while he and Simcha Jacobovici were making those oddball biblicial (?) themed docs for The Discovery Channel?
Good God, this was just a little joke a few days ago. You’ll be going up against all the legal might 20th Century Fox can muster.
I’ll tell you what you’re friggin options are; surrender.
If they sue, it will be for publicity. Delgo failed not because it was a bad film, but because it was a bad film that was never advertised. No one knew about this movie, there were no trailers. I work in the animation industry and I didn’t even hear about it until the week it was going to come out.
The company needs money, and the only way to get it now is to ride on the coattails of Avatar and have the publicity of the similarities in the news. Delgo can probably double the number of viewers it had just from one news story on CNN. Once people actually hear about Delgo they may have the opportunity to see the bad movie for themselves.
They both look vaguely human, maybe God should sue.
Hero!!!
TOO fukin funny!!!
Ha!
God should truly be angry
This just made my day, AGAIN!
The makers of RoboCop3 should sue Paramount since GIJoe the movie used body suits very similar.
This news is so retarded, can’t blame them for trying to make money off of a movie that did jack shit at the box office.
Better yet Ironman should sue because they had the Mech suit idea first, Gi Joe just come out and made it look crappy.
The Halo people should sue GIJOE cuz…well those were some fuckin HALO suites they were runnin around Paris in.
THis is the third time you have said this. We get what you are saying but at some point you might have to start exploring other answers and explanations. LIke I said to above, similar shots does not make a ‘rip-off’. These kinds of subjects and scenes only really have a few heroic or expressive shot options. Shooting with the camera jammed up the lizards ass isn’t one, though it would have been original and avoided legal action. What we are dealing with here are archetypes and coincidences.
Oh .. disregard that. I hit the wrong reply link. I was supposed to be replying to bjorn86 further down in the comments when he said that it was all about ‘angles’ and not the designs.
james camerons lawyers probably dont f around. delgo isnt gonna win nada.
This is the most retarded thing I’ve heard.
There are several similarities between a lot of movies. Two most notable examples are with the films “Dark City”, and “The Matrix”.
Hell YES. Both GREAT though…well obviously.
poor delgo. :(
Completely stupid.
Can you actually sue on the basis of a similar look? I mean ok they look like they could be very distant cousins but something very specific has to be stolen to sue doesn’t it, they would have to actually have the same character in avatar to sue. I’m calling bullshit on this one, no lawyer in their right mind would look at this and think they could win. The avatar delgo comparison was just something to fuck with the cameron camp a bit. I don’t think it was meant to be taken seriously.
If a judge doesn’t throw it out immediately, they’re crazy. I’m sure there’s plenty of other evidence that Cameron’s camp has at there disposal to prove there was no plagiarism on their part, but the first and most obvious thing to me is the apparent subjects of inspiration. The guy from Avatar clearly looks more feline, as though designed after a lion or tiger, whereas the Delgo character looks more simian.
EXACTLY. What are these guys thinking?
ITS….NOT….ABOUT…THE FUCKING GOD DAMN CRAZY MONKEY FELINE FUCKING GOD DAMN CHARACTERS!!! JESUS FUCKIN CHRIST.
Once again…it’s about the similar screencaps or look of certain shots in both films…fuckin PERIOD!! IDIOTS!
That’s just as crazy at the Batman/Batman lawsuit news that came about last November:
“Batman vs. Batman
The small-town mayor of Batman, Turkey, is threatening to sue filmmaker Warner Bros. for using his locale’s name without permission.”
Sure out of context these images can be found similar but the real distancing evidence will be what happens this December…should they wait that long…frivolous lawsuits, ehh
Avatar will bomb in the theater. My whole theater laughed when they saw the preview and I definitley though of Delgo.
Is their potential suit based solely on the visual similarities? If so, I’ll have to say bullshit to this one. Look at Japanese anime. A lot of is has striking similarities in the visual styles. I’m not saying that all anime looks a like, but there does tend to be a similar style to lot of the different properties. Do the companies in Japan sue each other on a regular basis, because of this? It’s animation! Hell I wonder if some of the same artist worked on both projects.