1968’s ‘Romeo and Juliet‘ stars Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are filing a lawsuit against Paramount over the alleged illegal dissemination of their naked photos, which are included in the Criterion edition of Franco Zeffirelli’s romantic movie.
Hussey and Whiting allege in their lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles on February 14 that they never gave their permission for Paramount to rerelease the film. As a result, they are suing for unauthorized use of their private photos, and infringement on performers’ rights. Read on to know more.
Related: Why Are The ‘Romeo And Juliet’ Stars Suing Paramount?
Why Are Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting Suing Paramount?
Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting are suing the platform regarding their rights as actors and are claiming that the redistribution of the film or its photographs was not agreed to by them. The actors claim that Paramount was not given permission to recreate, reprint, or share images of their work in any format or media other than 35 mm analog cinematographic photographs for the original distribution. But in addition to other “high definition” pictures, the digital edition has “digitally enhanced photographs” of both the actors lying together naked in a bed.
In a joint statement, both the actors said, “We and our new lawyers extended the olive branch to Paramount in hopes that they would settle this legal matter, but unfortunately, it appears that they do not want to take responsibility for their participation in the digital enhancement, production, and distribution of the 1968 film nor for the photos included in that reproduction that were fraudulently and surreptitiously taken”.
“Our fight for accountability will now involve a new lawsuit and a more rigorous effort in the media, which up until this time we had sought to avoid” they concluded.
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Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting Were Minors When The Film Was Released
In addition to the unethical distribution of the pictures, another matter of concern is that the actors were minors when the film was shot.
A complaint about the same reads, “Among other things, the digital photos rendered, in extremely high-definition detail, the contents of several analog color photographs taken in the private studio in the presence only of key photography personnel while Hussey and Whiting were minors during the production of the original project, depicting Hussey’s complete naked breasts and Whiting’s complete naked buttocks.” Whiting was 15 while Hussey was 16 when the scenes were shot.
In May 2023, a Los Angeles judge granted Paramount’s motion to dismiss the initial lawsuit, ruling against the claim that the nude scene constituted child pornography.
As of now, Paramount hasn’t yet responded to the claims and complaints.
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