MIKE TYSON TATTOO ARTIST SUES HANGOVER 2 LAWSUIT TO DELAY RELEASE?0 Comments

By Binside TV

Posted on 24 May 2011 at 2:55pm

Mike Tyson‘s tattoo artist has sued Hangover 2 producers and threatens to delay the release of the sequel. The tattoo is featured on the promotional poster for the movie which is scheduled to hits theaters over Memorial Day weekend. The cast hit the red carpet at premieres in NY and LA to promote the film. UPDATE: Hangover producers won the lawsuit.

How seriously is Warner Bros taking the lawsuit by Mike Tyson’s tattoo artist that threatens to halt this week’s release of The Hangover: Part II? The studio dispatched two of its top executives to St Louis to testify during a four-hour federal court hearing on whether a judge will issue an injunction preventing the planned Thursday rollout of the highly anticipated comedy sequel.

Warners president of worldwide marketing Sue Kroll and president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman both took the stand in St Louis federal court where S. Victor Whitmill is seeking an injunction on the grounds that the facial tattoo worn in the film by Ed Helms violates a copyright in the original work Whitmill created for Tyson. Warner Bros general counsel John Rogovin and other studio intellectual property lawyers accompanied Fellman and Kroll, who were cross-examined on the witness stand by Whitmill attorney Geoffrey Gerber. According to sources who attended the hearing, the Warners executives told the court that the studio has spent roughly $US80 million on marketing the sequel to 2009′s The Hangover and that blocking the film’s debut in cinemas would cause irreparable financial harm. Also, thousands of cinemas are in the process of receiving the film. Whitmill, who designed the tattoo on Tyson’s face, filed suit on April 28 claiming copyright infringement and asking for an injunction. Whitmill was the sole witness in support of his case at Monday’s hearing before US District Court Judge Catherine D. Perry. [via]