Top grossing film of Vic Sotto and Ai-Ai delas Alas’ Enteng ng Ina Mo, for the 37th Metro Manila Film Festival has been accused of pirating an artwork design used as the costume in the movie’s main villain.
Famous sculptor-artist-designer Leeroy New now demands P10 million pesos from the film producers that garnered in P238 million tickets sales, that break local box office records. New asserted that the movie’s fictional character "Satana" played by Filipina actress Bing Loyzaga wore a costume artwork copied from his art muscle dress sculpture.
The Filipino designer, had his RP counsel, Roque and Butuyan Law Office, demanded that the producers should "immediately desist from further showing, exhibiting, distributing, and licensing, the above mentioned movie in any medium," which he described as grossly violating his intellectual property rights. In behalf of New the Law Office has submitted a formal letter to the producers of the comic merger of two blockbuster films, "Enteng Kabisote" and "Ang Tanging Ina”. The producers M-Zet Productions, Star Cinema and OctoArts Films, was asked by the law office to comply the said demands within 10 days from receipt of demand letter dated last Feb. 2, or appropriate charges would be initiated in local courts of law, otherwise.
A variety of this art muscle dress designed by New was used by international singer Lady Gaga in the music video for her new single "Marry the Night," which was featured on the art cover of the singer’s album. As remembered Gaga’s black muscle dress was further altered by In-House Atelier for her Marry the Night video.
The 25 year old designer has been doing exhibits and innovative artworks in the 2008 Singapore Biennale and the Fukuoka Triennale in Japan. He also won a juried art residency grant at La Trobe Visual Art Center in Australia in 2009, after winning the 2009 Ateneo Art Award program.
New’s counsel said that "Satana" played an integral and inseparable part of the movie, with a costume copied from their client’s artwork. The said outfit worn by the villain was a crucial and substantial part of the movie principally during its final battle scene.
"For this reason, the costume became Satana and it was inseparable from her character as Enteng’s arch-nemesis. Take away that part of the movie where Satana was shown wearing the copied art muscle costume and the movie’s coherence and integrality are lost. Without the costume copied from our client’s copyrighted art muscle dress sculpture, Satana’s characterization in the movie will be impaired," the demand letter to ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema, M-Zet Productions, APT Entertainment, TAPE Inc. and OctoArts Films stated.
The artist’s counsel said New’s moral rights were violated when his design was not only used, but also altered and mutilated for use in the movie. Even though, during the closing credits of the movie his name was mentioned, but New neither gave any permission or consent to the use of his artwork and name in the movie.
Although documents are made and acknowldeged New’s art as the source of the costume used by the principal villain in the movie
