How much do you own your life story when other people are equally involved in it? That may seem like an odd question, but a recent court case is making it suddenly relevant. Alix Daily is suing her aunt and uncle for writing, directing and producing a movie based on an incident in all of their lives. She’s claiming her privacy has been violated by the movie Finding Amanda. Despite the fact that story being told was also lived by her uncle, she claims that she is owed damages since she was never consulted or informed about the movie.

Finding Amanda is the story of gambling addict traveling to Las Vegas to save his niece from a life of prostitution, drugs and her abusive boyfriend. During this trip he also learns about himself and his limitations. In interviews Peter Tolan, the screenwriter and uncle to Alix Daily, has told reporters the movie is based on real events from his life. Daily’s suit claims that “much of the dialogue, facts, and events really happened,” and the character of Amanda “looked, dressed, and behaved like Daily.” She claims that events in the movies were revealed to her aunt and uncle during a personal crisis. Clearly she feels violated, but are there grounds for damages in mere likeness?

If this is Ms. Daily’s case it seems difficult to see how she could be successful. The character’s name was changed so the only way the general public would ever associate the events in the movie with her is due to her suit. In addition, the events in question weren’t experienced by her alone. If she wins, the quirky barista in movies can sue if they resemble the person the screenwriter may have interacted with while writing and the angry neighbor that may be molded off someone in the building will be owed money. It’s hard to imagine that no one can write about things they experienced with other people in order to protect them. If Mr. Tolan is writing about events in his own life, and selling it as such, there appears to be no violation.

Posted by Becky on July 9, 2010 at 11:23am.