Battle for Ed Helms' Face Continues: Warner Brothers Looking at Digitally Replacing 'Hangover 2' Tattoo
by Scott Nye
The version of "The Hangover II" you saw in theaters (and if the box office receipts are any indication, you almost certainly have) might not be the one you see at home.
A few weeks back, we told you the tale of tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill, who sought an injunction to keep "The Hangover Part II" from theaters (or get Warner Brothers to pay him a lot of money) because they used Mike Tyson's tattoo on Ed Helms' face. What does Mike Tyson's tattoo have to do with anything? Turns out Whitmill designed it, and even got Tyson to sign the copyright over to him.
Well, the judge ruled that Warner Brothers could release the film as scheduled, because hey, the people have to see a smoking monkey, and we all kind of forgot about it. One guy who didn't forget about it? S. Victor Whitmill.
To keep a long story simple, the judge set a trial date for February 2012, but Whitmill and his lawyers pushed instead for February. Warner Brothers figures that they've already planned to put the film out on DVD and Blu-Ray in December 2011, which would give them plenty of time to alter the image digitally.
As quoted today in The Hollywood Reporter:
"If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute, Warner Bros. does not intend to make any use of the allegedly infringing tattoo after the film ends its run in theaters because Warner Bros. will digitally alter the film to substitute a different tattoo on Ed Helms' face."
Wow, Warner Bros. legal team, I guess somebody didn't attend class during the "run-on sentences" lesson.
The judge has set a private mediation for June 16th, which could resolve the whole affair. If not, look for something totally different to be on Ed Helms' face in future incarnations of "The Hangover Part II," and you'll have a story to tell your kids someday about how you saw the REAL "Hangover Part II" and how cool are you?