Goodfellas and the Simpsons: Rights of Publicity Dilemma
December 9, 2016
On October 21, 2014, Frank Sivero, an actor known for playing Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese’s blockbuster mobster film Goodfellas, filed a $250 million lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, against Fox Television Studios and Abram Groening, the co-creator of The Simpsons. The case, captioned Frank Sivero v. Fox Television Studios Inc. et al., (Index No. BC561200), alleges that the wise guy “Louie” character on the show is an appropriation of Sivero’s likeness and an infringement of his right of publicity. Sivero claims the writers modeled Louie off on his Goodfellas character.
Although this topic has not been highly litigated, the sparse case law suggests Sivero will likely face an uphill battle in his right of publicity claim. In the cases that have examined whether the unauthorized use of a fictional character gives rise to a right of publicity claim, the courts have focused on whether the character is closely associated or “inextricably identified” with the real-life individual. Accordingly, Sivero will likely need to demonstrate that his Goodfellas character is so identifiable that it is to be indistinguishable from his own public perception. In other words, Sivero will need to prove the character is indelibly linked with him, which is challenging to do, but not impossible. It will be an interesting case to watch how the court grapples with the limits of the right of publicity law.