Dear John and Will:

by Scully 20 Replies latest jw friends

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  Scully

  Dear John Lithgow and Will Smith:

  We are writing to determine whether you gave permission to the Watchtower Society to use your likenesses in their publications.

  The following illustration (which they refer to in legal documents as "artwork") appeared on page 23 in the September 1, 1997 issue of the Watchtower magazine, and was reproduced in the annual "bound volume" of the same periodical.

  As you can see, the figure represented on the bottom left bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Lithgow, while the figure on the bottom right bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Smith. Both individuals are being depicted as having received "the execution of divine judgement" at God's hands in the battle of Armageddon.

  I personally find such depictions to be in poor taste, regardless of whether the depictions are of anonymous individuals or celebrities. However to have likenesses of celebrities depicted in this manner borders on libel, unless expressed permission was granted to use your likenesses in such a negative manner.

  The Watchtower magazine is published in over 100 languages and has a per-issue publication of over 2 million copies. The Watchtower Society is a multi-billion dollar publishing corporation that uses its "religious freedom" and claims "freedom of speech" and "freedom of expression" to slander the beliefs and practices of other religions (the Catholic church in particular) and yet prevents the free expression, religious freedom and freedom of speech of its critics in causing the take-down of websites that expose "embarrassing" quotations and illustrations from their own publications (such as the one above depicting your untimely demise) by suing site owners for copyright infringement.

  Surely your likenesses are considered "protected" under copyright laws, and cannot be used intentionally to cause defamation of your characters or portray you in the particularly unflattering position of being "God's enemies".

  ---

  Disclaimer: This letter has not been delivered to the persons named. It is just on my Wish List of Things To Do Before I Die.
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  stillajwexelder

  You should know by now Scully they never give academic references 9well not in full anyway) and only ever give credit to Jehovah or themselves never to somebody else (or rarely anyway)
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  RunningMan

  Is the fellow with his glasses half off Tim Robbins?
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  jgnat

  And the lady with a scarf is obviously Sally Field.
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  daystar

  ROFL!! Good one!!
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  DanTheMan

  I always suspected that there was something evil about those two, and 1995 Buick Lesabres too. Good to know they'll all be getting Armageddonized real soon now.
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  greendawn

  Fortunately for Lithgow and Smith Armageddon never arrived and it never will as and when the JWs have been proclaiming, not that they would have been fit to survive it any more than the rest of us.
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  RunningMan

  Don't all circuit overseers drive Buick LeSabres? You'd think all that spirituality would have moved them down the destruction list. I would think a Dodge Demon would have been more appropriate.
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  gumby

  Scully, I posted that same pic on a thread and someone said the guy in the bottom left looked like Ray Franz. I thought so too. I wouldn't put it past the sick bastards.

  Gumby
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  kid-A

  You forgot Andrea Martin dressed as "Perini Scleroso" in the frumpy babushka, David Bowie is lying there resting his head on that dudes torso, and "Meatloaf" is in the background, waving his hands in the air as jehoobie lobs a fireball up his butt......ouch!!