Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Re: compensation in movies

Assuming the film gives their true identity, I believe it depends on whether they are a public figure or not, whether the film claims they authorized it, and which state you are in.

Re: compensation in movies

As with most legal questions I get asked, the answer is "it depends." If it's a documentary as opposed to a fictional film the answer is unlikely as courts tend to trump the right of publicity or privacy in favor of the First Amendment or that the film is in the public interest. Journalists are loathe to pay interview subjects because it taints the portrayal and doc filmmakers are similarly inclined. If it's a fictional portrayal the filmmaker has a number of considerations because rights of publicity and privacy are not as dismissive as with a documentary. Issues like invented dialogue, situations and interacting characters could move the film so far into the fictional realm that a court might feel the film is pure entertainment, in which case the party portrayed might have a claim. In either case, non-fiction or not, defamation always looms as a matter to be considered. Becsuse this is such a interpretive situation, the peprson portrayed ought to have an experienced attorney help him/her decide.