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danny e. · Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:01 pm

When I saw "The Last of US" I KNEW it was Ellen Page. Then the girls voice didn't match and I thought "Why did they get Ellen Page to agree to be in the game but not have her also voice act the part?

Ellen Page wrote:
I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness, but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond Two Souls, so it was not appreciated,”

They stole my likeness, Ellen Page say

Seems very apparent that Ellen was the inspiration for that likeness.. Looks much like Ellen not like Ashley Johnson.
Who else looks that much like Ellen?

ludi · Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:10 pm

Odd thing to get uptight about considering that Page's features are not extraordinarily unique. Any time I see a publicity photo of Ellen Page or Summer Glau I sometimes have to look twice to see which one it is, and neither of them looks exactly like that screenshot.

Hawkwing74 · Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:38 pm

Her gripe looks like a real stretch. Unless she has further proof, this seems silly.

cphite · Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:52 pm

danny e. wrote:
When I saw "The Last of US" I KNEW it was Ellen Page. Then the girls voice didn't match and I thought "Why did they get Ellen Page to agree to be in the game but not have her also voice act the part?

Ellen Page wrote:
I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness, but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond Two Souls, so it was not appreciated,”

They stole my likeness, Ellen Page say

Seems very apparent that Ellen was the inspiration for that likeness.. Looks much like Ellen not like Ashley Johnson.
Who else looks that much like Ellen?

Eh, I guess I see the resemblance but honestly, I wouldn't have thought of Ellen Page unless someone pointed it out.

I.S.T. · Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:37 pm

She looks incredibly similar to me, to the point where I thought she was the face model for the game. In addition, originally the model looked more like Ellen Page... They made it look more unique later on, probably to avoid a lawsuit.

All in all, pretty disappointed in ND here. I expect better from them.

cynan · Mon Jun 24, 2013 3:59 pm

It does look a lot like Ellen Page. Hard to believe that it's a coincidence.

That said, why would Page be upset? It's just free publicity for her - not saying she needs it, but all the same. The only reason I could see why she'd have a problem is if the character in the game was doing something she was uncomfortable with morally. But even then... "No publicity is bad publicity" and "Imitation is the best form of flattery" and all that...

Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:01 pm

cynan wrote:
That said, why would Page be upset? It's just free publicity for her

Yeah, but in the wrong direction. If they're using her likeness to sell the game and not compensating her for that, she has a cause of action.

cynan · Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:18 pm

Captain Ned wrote:
cynan wrote:
That said, why would Page be upset? It's just free publicity for her

Yeah, but in the wrong direction. If they're using her likeness to sell the game and not compensating her for that, she has a cause of action.

What do you mean by "wrong direction"? This way, she maybe gets her face out to a slightly wider audience than before. The next time she stars in a movie (or game), maybe a few more people that saw/liked The Last of Us would now go pay to see/play.

I don't know if I agree that she has a legitimate cause of action. Playing devil's advocate, she didn't do any work. Why does she have grounds for compensation? I agree it's a bit of a tactless move by the creators, but probably not grounds for a civil suit. It's not like they used an actual photograph (or video) of her. As such, I doubt she has much of a legal leg to stand on anyway.

I.S.T. · Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:32 pm

I just think that their alteration of the face to less resemble her is very, very telling.

jossie · Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:37 pm

A plaintiff must establish three elements to hold someone liable for unlawful use of name or likeness:

1. Use of a Protected Attribute: The plaintiff must show that the defendant used an aspect of his or her identity that is protected by the law. This ordinarily means a plaintiff's name or likeness, but the law protects certain other personal attributes as well.
2. For an Exploitative Purpose: The plaintiff must show that the defendant used his name, likeness, or other personal attributes for commercial or other exploitative purposes. Use of someone's name or likeness for news reporting and other expressive purposes is not exploitative, so long as there is a reasonable relationship between the use of the plaintiff's identity and a matter of legitimate public interest.
3. No Consent: The plaintiff must establish that he or she did not give permission for the offending use.

"Likeness" refers to a visual image of the plaintiff, whether in a photograph, drawing, caricature, or other visual presentation. The visual image need not precisely reproduce the plaintiff's appearance, or even show his or her face, so long as it is enough to evoke the plaintiff's identity in the eyes of the public.

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/using-n ... ss-another

Vrock · Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:38 pm

Naughty Dog did the same thing with the Uncharted series, Elena Fisher looks and sounds just like Jennifer Anniston.

JohnC · Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:48 pm

Very smart of her - waiting until the game gains more "popularity" and sales numbers before making a "hint" to developers :wink:

danny e. · Mon Jun 24, 2013 5:07 pm

Hawkwing74 wrote:
Her gripe looks like a real stretch. Unless she has further proof, this seems silly.

really?

cynan · Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:32 pm

jossie wrote:
A plaintiff must establish three elements to hold someone liable for unlawful use of name or likeness:

1. Use of a Protected Attribute: The plaintiff must show that the defendant used an aspect of his or her identity that is protected by the law. This ordinarily means a plaintiff's name or likeness, but the law protects certain other personal attributes as well.
2. For an Exploitative Purpose: The plaintiff must show that the defendant used his name, likeness, or other personal attributes for commercial or other exploitative purposes. Use of someone's name or likeness for news reporting and other expressive purposes is not exploitative, so long as there is a reasonable relationship between the use of the plaintiff's identity and a matter of legitimate public interest.
3. No Consent: The plaintiff must establish that he or she did not give permission for the offending use.

"Likeness" refers to a visual image of the plaintiff, whether in a photograph, drawing, caricature, or other visual presentation. The visual image need not precisely reproduce the plaintiff's appearance, or even show his or her face, so long as it is enough to evoke the plaintiff's identity in the eyes of the public.

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/using-n ... ss-another

All well and good, but is there much if any legal precedent dealing with wrongful use of an individual's likeness for exploitative purposes that didn't involve a video or photograph? I think it would be pretty difficult to prove beyond a doubt that the creators definitively were imitating Page's likeness in court...

Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:39 pm

I feel that Ellie looks quite a bit like her voice actor (Ashley Johnson).

I think it's coincidence her appearance to Ellen Page.

cynan · Sat Jun 29, 2013 4:55 pm

Ryu Connor wrote:
I feel that Ellie looks quite a bit like her voice actor (Ashley Johnson).

I think it's coincidence her appearance to Ellen Page.

Well, it definitely looks a lot more like Ellen Page to me. But this is just an indication of why any civil case would likely have difficulty standing in court.

TurtlePerson2 · Sat Jun 29, 2013 6:06 pm

I don't think that Page could win any sort of lawsuit unless there was some sort of smoking gun. For example, if an internal e-mail says "hey lets make the character look like Ellen Page," then Page might win the suit. Otherwise all that the developer has to do is produce a half dozen women who look more like the character than Ellen Page.

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