[kj] More on the Johnny Depp/Dave Vanian "coincidence"

ketracelwhite at hotmail.com ketracelwhite at hotmail.com
Tue Nov 13 14:22:06 EST 2007


HA!!! Are you serious?!?!? If Dave Vanian could sue Johnny Depp (or
DreamWorks) for having a streak in his hair, then shouldn't Al Jourgensen
(or Rob Zombie/Helios Creed/Zodiac Mindwarp) be able to sue them for donning
his image in Pirates of the Carribean?
Get real...

----- Original Message -----
From: "B. Oliver Sheppard" <bigblackhair at sbcglobal.net>
To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)"
<gathering at misera.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: [kj] More on the Johnny Depp/Dave Vanian "coincidence"



> Just to play Devil's Advocate -- Vanian said he got the distinctive

> hairdo from Lily Munster, not any Hammer Horror films, though obviously

> in interviews he's said he loves the Hammer stuff and I've no doubt

> that's heavily colored his demeanor, clothing, etc.

>

> And "Dave Vanian" as stage persona/invented character (like Paul Reubens

> vs. Peewee Herman), and thus intellectual property, versus an actor,

> Depp, who routinely adopts others' personae for his roles -- that angle

> could be played up.

>

> Thing is, Vanian doesn't get out of his Vanian persona off stage, like

> Paul reubens, who is not always Peewee Herman. Dave Vanian really seems

> to be Dave Vanian 24/7 -- which is cool. And, yeah, it might look petty.

> Unless he said something politely & discretely to DreamWorks, and they

> got scared, and just offered him something offhand, frightened when they

> saw older music videos and the like, to just get him out of their hair.

> It'd be nice for that to happen to Mr. Vanian, I think. I mean, there

> are whole subgenres of horror punk and the like that make way more money

> than The Damned ever had. It'd just be nice to see someone like him get

> some sort of payoff for pushing a substantial part of musical culture

> into the vampire-obsessed, gothy direction its gone. But Vanian has

> always struck me as particularly modest and low key, not someone to toot

> his own horn -- which is one of the reasons I admire the guy.

>

> -Oliver

>

>

>

> Alexander Smith wrote:

> >

> > Moreover, it'd look pretty petty on Vanian's part, not to mention the

> > fact that Vanian himself appropriated that aesthetic from Hammer

> > horror films.

> >

> > I mean yeah -- I agree that the similarity is pretty striking, but

> > it's not really a copyright/trademark issue, I don't think.

> >

> > Alex in NYC

> >

> >

> > On Nov 13, 2007, at 1:49 PM, B. Oliver Sheppard wrote:

> >

> >> That's true -- as Jim Carrey said, "Imitation is the sincerest form

> >> of plagiarism."

> >>

> >> You're right, a lot of times a rip-off is billed as an

> >> homage/tribute. That's a good cultural/legal defense. Oh well.

> >>

> >> -Oliver

> >>

> >

> >

>

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