An LA actress sued for using unauthorized video clips in her video reel.
Actors have to showcase their acting skills to other casting, directors, producers, and influencers in Hollywood to land bigger opportunities. But, what happens if you use footage from a project without asking for permission? Well, you can get sued.
According to reports, actress Jessica Taylor Said credited as Jessica Cesaro), who is getting sued by filmmaker Robin Bain. Bain directed the actress in the 2016 independent film Nowhereland. According to Bain, she submitted a watermarked copy o the film to Film Independent’s LA Film Festival in December 2015 and February 2016, and claims that Film Independent in turn gave a copy of the film to Haid without Bain’s permission. Bain claims that this was done after Said asked her if she could have clips of the film to use in her reel – a request Bain denied.
According to the lawsuit, Said submitted the footage to reel created L.A. MediaWorks, which “subsequently removed the watermark from The Film and then posted and published the Infringing Scenes from The Film on the LA MEDIA’s website for public viewing.” The suit includes screenshots that suggest L.A. MediaWorks cropped the watermark out.
Both Film Independent and L.A. MediaWorks are also named as defendants in the case, which was filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court, Central District of California.
The lawsuit identifies Nowhereland as an “unreleased” film, while it did play at film festivals and is currently available until the new title Girl Lost on Amazon Prime.
Related:
- ‘Stranger Things’ Casting Directors Reveal Why Atlanta is The New Hollywood
- Study: 94% of Women in Hollywood Experienced Sexual Harassment
- Hollywood is Looking for Aspiring Hispanic Writers
What do you think? Discuss this story with fellow Project Casting fans
on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @projectcasting.
