"Filed Tuesday by native Peruvian actress and activist Q'orianka Kilcher, the suit alleges that Cameron "extracted" Kilcher's "facial features" from a photo of her playing Pocahontas in the 2006 movie "The New World" and "directed his design team to use it as the foundation for the character of Neytiri," one of the "Avatar" franchise's main characters. When "The New World" was filmed, Kilcher, now 36, was just 14."
""This case exposes how one of Hollywood's most powerful filmmakers exploited a young Indigenous girl's biometric identity and cultural heritage to create a record-breaking film franchise - without credit or compensation to her - through a series of deliberate, non-expressive commercial acts," reads the suit, . "The result was a hugely lucrative film franchise that presented itself as sympathetic to Indigenous struggles," it adds, "all while silently exploiting a real Indigenous youth behind the scenes.""
"According to NBC, the lawsuit includes evidence like Cameron's initial sketches of the character Neytiri and interviews with Cameron and members of his production team in which they explicitly name Kilcher as the character's visual inspiration. The "Avatar" franchise has gone on to make nearly $7 billion dollars at the global box office."
"Kilcher says she didn't consent to her likeness being used in any way, and had no idea that she'd been Cameron's muse until after the first "Avatar" movie - which remains the highest-grossing film of all time - was released, when the "Titanic" director presented her with a framed sketch"
A native Peruvian actress and activist filed a lawsuit against director James Cameron and The Walt Disney Co. The claim alleges that Cameron extracted her facial features from a photo taken when she was 14 while she played Pocahontas in The New World. The suit states that Cameron directed his design team to use those features as the foundation for Neytiri, a main character in the Avatar franchise. The lawsuit alleges deliberate non-expressive commercial acts that exploited her biometric identity and cultural heritage without credit or compensation. The franchise has generated nearly $7 billion globally, while presenting itself as sympathetic to Indigenous struggles. The actress says she never consented and only learned of the alleged inspiration after the first Avatar film.
#indigenous-rights #biometric-identity #copyright-and-likeness #hollywood-film-industry #avatar-franchise
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