OH, NO JEW DON'T:WOODY SUES OVER 'RABBI' AD- Woody Allen didn't get the joke when American Apparel plastered photos of him dressed as a rabbi on billboards in New York and Los Angeles, and he's now suing the hipster clothing company.
The notoriously neurotic filmmaker hopes to laugh all the way to the bank, suing American Apparel for $10 million yesterday in a lawsuit that accuses the company of ripping off an image from his 1977 movie classic "Annie Hall."
The bizarre billboard ad appeared on the corner of Allen and Houston streets on the Lower East Side in May 2007 only to vanish days later.
The shot showed Allen with a long beard, hat, ringlets and glasses, with a Yiddish phrase that translates to "the holy rabbi" superimposed above and the American Apparel logo below.
A second billboard turned heads on the West Coast, and the photo was also briefly featured on American Apparel's Web site.
Lawyers for Allen delivered the punch line in Manhattan federal court, socking American Apparel with the suit, which accuses the company of violating his civil rights and implying that he endorses the company.
The photo at the center of the dispute comes from a scene in "Annie Hall"
"Allen was unaware that AAI was going to utilize his image on its billboards and Web site. Allen was not contacted, nor did he in any way give his consent to the use of his image and likeness and he was not in any way compensated," the suit alleged.
"AAI's unlawful use of Allen's image for commercial advertising purposes is especially egregious and damaging because Allen does not commercially endorse any products in the Unites States of America."
A spokeswoman for the company did not return a call seeking comment.
Unless there's more to this story, I don't see how the clothing company thought they could get away with this. It's fairly well settled law that you can't use a celebrity's picture (or even a reasonable facsimile sometimes) without permission to advertise a product.
In fact, in one case, Frito Lay was successfully sued by singer Tom Waits for using a singer who simply SOUNDED like him for a commercial.
