World Of Color Refurbishment

[SuddenStorm]

First, Disney would have to agree to it, its the same reason why Harrison's voice is not used in IJA. Likeness and voice rights are huge in Hollywood. Disney would be in big legal trouble for using an actors voice after they've been asked to not use it.

If they already recorded the audio, wouldn't Disney have contracted that they're allowed to use it at their will? I thought the issue with IJA was that Harrison Ford hadn't recorded the audio yet, and he didn't agree to record it.

 

[Disney Irish]

If they already recorded the audio, wouldn't Disney have contracted that they're allowed to use it at their will? I thought the issue with IJA was that Harrison Ford hadn't recorded the audio yet, and he didn't agree to record it.

It depends on many factors, while I’m not a lawyer, I do know CA has a lot of laws on the books protecting what are known as Personality Rights. It protects an individuals right to control their name, image, likeness, and other aspects of that individual including their voice. And in CA this even includes after death, not that that is relevant here, but still worth mentioning.

Which means I could see a lawsuit filed by an actor if they asked to have their voice removed from a project before it was released and Disney went ahead and used it anyways.

So just because it’s already recorded doesn’t automatically give Disney the rights to use it, especially since it hasn’t been release yet.

 

[RescueTheDay]

From what I’ve heard the plan is to have the new WOC open this year for Halloween. Subject to change though.

 

[chadwpalm]

It depends on many factors, while I’m not a lawyer, I do know CA has a lot of laws on the books protecting what are known as Personality Rights. It protects an individuals right to control their name, image, likeness, and other aspects of that individual including their voice. And in CA this even includes after death, not that that is relevant here, but still worth mentioning.

Which means I could see a lawsuit filed by an actor if they asked to have their voice removed from a project before it was released and Disney went ahead and used it anyways.

So just because it’s already recorded doesn’t automatically give Disney the rights to use it, especially since it hasn’t been release yet.

From my understanding, personality rights laws are like trademark laws. If a trademark is used without permission for monetary gain, it is considered illegal. The same can be said with likeness/voice/character of a person unless it falls under parody purposes which is completely different.

The key here is "used without permission". If the actor signs a contract they essentially are giving that permission. You can't simply just decide one day to back out. They can try to file a lawsuit, and if Disney still wanted to pursue it they can counter sue for breach of contract. Ultimately a judge would have to decide which law takes precedence over the other. It all depends on if the court fees and time were worth it in the end to either party involved.

I really have no clue as to what's going on with the topic at hand. I don't know if the show is already made and if contracts have been signed. I just wanted to point out that personality rights don't automatically overrule contractual agreements......at least not without a court ruling.

To address this line specifically: "So just because it’s already recorded doesn’t automatically give Disney the rights to use it, especially since it hasn’t been release yet," there is no way Disney would start a recording session with an actor without contracts being hashed out beforehand. That would be bad business and Disney isn't new to the rodeo here. If the actors gave permission through contract (and the contract very specifically didn't say they can't use the likeness, which is possible, but unlikely), then yes, Disney has every right to use it......just as the actor has every right to try and fight it. It's not as if Disney is grabbing random sound bites from the actors' public appearances and using them for their show. The actors signed contracts, willingly stepped into the studio under those contracts, thus giving permission. The same goes with using clips from movies (again, unless their movie contracts specifically said their likeness in those clips can't be used, which again is unlikely).

 

[SuddenStorm]

It depends on many factors, while I’m not a lawyer, I do know CA has a lot of laws on the books protecting what are known as Personality Rights. It protects an individuals right to control their name, image, likeness, and other aspects of that individual including their voice. And in CA this even includes after death, not that that is relevant here, but still worth mentioning.

Which means I could see a lawsuit filed by an actor if they asked to have their voice removed from a project before it was released and Disney went ahead and used it anyways.

So just because it’s already recorded doesn’t automatically give Disney the rights to use it, especially since it hasn’t been release yet.

Why would Disney NOT have an ironclad contract giving them ownership of any recorded film/audio? That would be a huge mess up by the legal department if at any point an actor could say "You know what? I don't want you to use the footage you contracted and paid me for"

A lot of what you're saying only applies to use of someone's likeness that they didn't give prior permission for. Whether or not Disney releases the audio is of no consequence, if they recorded it, then their lawyers made sure the contract with the actor gives Disney complete control over it.

 

[Disney Irish]

From my understanding, personality rights laws are like trademark laws. If a trademark is used without permission for monetary gain, it is considered illegal. The same can be said with likeness/voice/character of a person unless it falls under parody purposes which is completely different.

The key here is "used without permission". If the actor signs a contract they essentially are giving that permission. You can't simply just decide one day to back out. They can try to file a lawsuit, and if Disney still wanted to pursue it they can counter sue for breach of contract. Ultimately a judge would have to decide which law takes precedence over the other. It all depends on if the court fees and time were worth it in the end to either party involved.

I really have no clue as to what's going on with the topic at hand. I don't know if the show is already made and if contracts have been signed. I just wanted to point out that personality rights don't automatically overrule contractual agreements......at least not without a court ruling.

To address this line specifically: "So just because it’s already recorded doesn’t automatically give Disney the rights to use it, especially since it hasn’t been release yet," there is no way Disney would start a recording session with an actor without contracts being hashed out beforehand. That would be bad business and Disney isn't new to the rodeo here. If the actors gave permission through contract (and the contract very specifically didn't say they can't use the likeness, which is possible, but unlikely), then yes, Disney has every right to use it......just as the actor has every right to try and fight it. It's not as if Disney is grabbing random sound bites from the actors' public appearances and using them for their show. The actors signed contracts, willingly stepped into the studio under those contracts, thus giving permission. The same goes with using clips from movies (again, unless their movie contracts specifically said their likeness in those clips can't be used, which again is unlikely).

Why would Disney NOT have an ironclad contract giving them ownership of any recorded film/audio? That would be a huge mess up by the legal department if at any point an actor could say "You know what? I don't want you to use the footage you contracted and paid me for"

A lot of what you're saying only applies to use of someone's likeness that they didn't give prior permission for. Whether or not Disney releases the audio is of no consequence, if they recorded it, then their lawyers made sure the contract with the actor gives Disney complete control over it.

This is not a hill I'm willing to die on. But its not as simple and clear cut as you two seem to think it is.

Anyways it'll be interesting to see if there will be a special show for Halloween this year or not. As there has been one rumored for a couple years now.

 

[SuddenStorm]

This is not a hill I'm willing to die on. But its not as simple and clear cut as you two seem to think it is.

Anyways it'll be interesting to see if there will be a special show for Halloween this year or not. As there has been one rumored for a couple years now.

I'm just incredibly confused by your logic. If what you're saying is possible, then we'd see actors requesting to have them removed from past TV shows and films all the time. We'd see musicians have far greater control over their music. I think you're conflating someone's right to control their identity and protect it from unauthorized use, to the rights someone have after they've contracted out their talent/image.

 

[Disney Irish]

I'm just incredibly confused by your logic. If what you're saying is possible, then we'd see actors requesting to have them removed from past TV shows and films all the time. We'd see musicians have far greater control over their music. I think you're conflating someone's right to control their identity and protect it from unauthorized use, to the rights someone have after they've contracted out their talent/image.

There is a difference in something thats already been released and something not yet released. Once its been released I would agree there is not much that can be done. But we're talking about something that hasn't been released to the public yet. As such an actor can back out of a project, even if their parts have already been filmed or recorded. Which then requires the studio to either reshoot or record new vocals for the project to be released. You see this all the time in Hollywood.

 

[SuddenStorm]

There is a difference in something thats already been released and something not yet released. Once its been released I would agree there is not much that can be done. But we're talking about something that hasn't been released to the public yet. As such an actor can back out of a project, even if their parts have already been filmed or recorded. Which then requires the studio to either reshoot or record new vocals for the project to be released. You see this all the time in Hollywood.

If it happens all the time, can you share a few examples where an actor was able to stop a film or something from being released just by saying they don't want it to, after their parts have been recorded or filmed?

 

[Disney Irish]

If it happens all the time, can you share a few examples where an actor was able to stop a film or something from being released just by saying they don't want it to, after their parts have been recorded or filmed?

To prevent an actual release, no I can't think of any specific instance.

Again not a hill I'm willing to die for. So I'll just leave it by saying that at this point I hope the Halloween show is released.

 

[Disney Analyst]

We saw WoC last weekend (my first time!) and it was AMAZING!! Even better than I thought it would be!

Ooh I’m so happy to hear that!!