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Street Artists Sue Terry Gilliam For “Misappropriating” Their Mural In The Zero Theorem


August 15, 2014 | Sophie Weiner

Street artists Jaz, Ever and Other are suing director Terry Gilliam over “a blatant misappropriation” of their work in his new film The Zero Theorem. Their suit against Gilliam claims that a scene in his film shows a mural that closely resembles their 2010 collaborative piece Castillo in Argentina.

The artists stated that “it does not matter here how many minutes of screen time in the Film are devoted to the Infringing Work, because what is important is ‘the amount taken without authorization from the infringed work,’ not ‘the characteristics of the infringing work.’”

Gilliam was previously sued by architect Lebbeus Woods, who claimed he ripped of Woods’ 1987 paining “Neomechanical Tower (Upper) Chamber” in the film 12 Monkeys. That suit was settled, and Woods was granted a preliminary injunction. 

(Images: U.S. Court Documents, thezerotheorem-movie.com via Hyperallergic)