Thursday, April 24, 2008

Watch your cigarettes with this guy, Jack!

As I've previously professed my undying love for "Midnight Run," I thought I should make note of this item from The Hollywood Reporter about Larry the Cable Guy being sued for hiring Yaphet Kotto to play his "Run" character, FBI Agent Alonso Mosely, in his movie "Witless Protection" -- without getting permission from Universal, which owns the rights to all the characters in the original film.

And, while we're on the subject, here are six sublime seconds of Kotto as Mosely. Enjoy.
at

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:46 PM, April 24, 2008

    Isn't Hard Eight basically a movie about Philip Baker Hall's character, Sydney? I guess it flew too under the radar for Universal to notice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alan Sepinwall5:32 PM, April 24, 2008

    Midnight Run Sydney was Jimmy Serrano's attorney. I thought the Hall character in Hard Eight was some kind of gambler/con man, no?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:50 PM, April 24, 2008

    This film was Kotto's first role in seven years. If that doesn't depress you, I don't know what will.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:23 PM, April 24, 2008

    Philip Baker Hall in "Hard Eight" aka "Sydney" was, indeed a gambler, or at least a professional at not having a regular job. It had nothing to do with Midnight Run. Just a coincidence

    Although... maybe I should rewatch both and see if there is some subtext I am missing...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:17 PM, April 24, 2008

    I don't think Larry the Cable Guy should be sued for that. I think Larry the Cable Guy should be shunned and sent adrift on an ice floe for that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous11:17 PM, April 24, 2008

    Although hell, if Kotto got paid...

    ReplyDelete
  7. The CineManiac12:10 AM, April 25, 2008

    I see this as a Win-Win-Win!
    Kotto got to play Mosley again.
    Universal gets all future dvd releases of "Witless Protection" banned from being distributed.
    The home viewing public is saved from more Larry the Cable Guy.
    What could be bad about this?

    Also sometimes I wonder if these companies don't already have something worked out where they split the profits, then file a lawsuit to drum up sales, then "settle" out of court in an unpublished deal. (It's what I'd do!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rob Rogers4:16 PM, April 28, 2008

    I saw Yaphet Kotto in London in 1990, starring in August Wilson's Fences. He was mesmerizing. I hope if he hasn't had many TV or movie roles lately, it's because he's been doing stage work or something else that's satisfying to him.

    ReplyDelete