Living the Dream
I've no doubt that this report from The Independent is correct, but it does seem very odd that the family of Martin Luther King Jr can exercise such control over Dr King's image, writings and speeches.
America's greatest civil rights campaigner must be turning in his grave.
I no longer have a dream — King family forces movie to misquote
By Iain Dey - The Sunday Times
David Oyelowo stars with Carmen Ejogo in Selma, based on the life of Martin Luther King (Everett Collection/Rex)
MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr famously had a dream. In the new Hollywood film about his work, however, the civil rights activist could have had a “vision” or a “hope” but certainly not a “dream”.
The speeches that made King famous around the world and helped to end racial segregation in America are protected by copyright, which is rigidly enforced by his children.
Selma, which opens in British cinemas next month and tells the story of the protest marches in Alabama in 1965, was unable to use any of King’s famous quotes or speeches. The film rights to his canon have already been licensed to Steven Spielberg.
To bring King’s oratory to the big screen, the scriptwriters were forced instead to cobble together paraphrased approximations of some of his most inspirational speeches — substituting synonyms for the real words to avoid being sued.
None of the emotive words put in the mouth of the British actor David Oyelowo in his critically acclaimed performance as King — which has made him and the film leading Oscar contenders — were ever said by the man himself.
Historians have warned that an entire generation of children who learn through the film about the civil rights marches and the violent police reaction could end up misquoting one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
The copyright problem has shone a spotlight on the moneymaking agenda of the King children, who charged a foundation erecting a statue in his honour in Washington for the use of his words.
It has been estimated that the family estate has made more than $50m (£33m) over the years through the licensing of King’s image, writings and speeches.
David J Garrow, King’s Pulitzer prize-winning biographer, has said the film “captures him very nicely, while evading the clutches of the greedy family”.
Chuck Fager, an activist who shared a cell with King after they were arrested at the Selma protests, is among those to have found fault with the script. “The dialogue differs markedly from [the actual] quotes,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Historians are already upset with Selma, due to its erroneous portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson as having been at odds with King over the extension of black voting rights. Joseph Califano, the late president’s top domestic adviser, accused the film’s makers of “taking dramatic trumped-up licence with a true story that didn’t need any embellishment”.
MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr famously had a dream. In the new Hollywood film about his work, however, the civil rights activist could have had a “vision” or a “hope” but certainly not a “dream”.
The speeches that made King famous around the world and helped to end racial segregation in America are protected by copyright, which is rigidly enforced by his children.
Selma, which opens in British cinemas next month and tells the story of the protest marches in Alabama in 1965, was unable to use any of King’s famous quotes or speeches. The film rights to his canon have already been licensed to Steven Spielberg.
To bring King’s oratory to the big screen, the scriptwriters were forced instead to cobble together paraphrased approximations of some of his most inspirational speeches — substituting synonyms for the real words to avoid being sued.
None of the emotive words put in the mouth of the British actor David Oyelowo in his critically acclaimed performance as King — which has made him and the film leading Oscar contenders — were ever said by the man himself.
Historians have warned that an entire generation of children who learn through the film about the civil rights marches and the violent police reaction could end up misquoting one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
The copyright problem has shone a spotlight on the moneymaking agenda of the King children, who charged a foundation erecting a statue in his honour in Washington for the use of his words.
It has been estimated that the family estate has made more than $50m (£33m) over the years through the licensing of King’s image, writings and speeches.
David J Garrow, King’s Pulitzer prize-winning biographer, has said the film “captures him very nicely, while evading the clutches of the greedy family”.
Chuck Fager, an activist who shared a cell with King after they were arrested at the Selma protests, is among those to have found fault with the script. “The dialogue differs markedly from [the actual] quotes,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Historians are already upset with Selma, due to its erroneous portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson as having been at odds with King over the extension of black voting rights. Joseph Califano, the late president’s top domestic adviser, accused the film’s makers of “taking dramatic trumped-up licence with a true story that didn’t need any embellishment”.
(Bruce Davidson/Magnum )
The “I have a dream” speech does not feature in the film, because it took place two years before the film’s main action is set. However, other key rallying calls from the marches King led through Alabama in 1965 have been substantially altered.
King’s famous chant of “Give us the ballot” has evolved into “Give us the vote”. In a scene at the funeral of protester Jimmie Lee Jackson, King is portrayed as asking the assembled crowd,“Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson?” when what he actually said was simply, “Who killed him?”
It was King himself who first used copyright to protect his speeches after unauthorised records of his 17-minute 1963 “I have a dream” speech in Washington were put on sale. In a later court ruling a judge determined that the speech qualified as a performance, rather than a public broadcast, giving it the same legal protection as a recording of a live concert.
The legal position has always been controversial, given that the content of King’s speech drew heavily on words and phrases used by other civil rights campaigners, took much of its content from historical documents, and adapted lines from Shakespeare’s Richard III.
Over the years the King estate has successfully sued media outlets including USA Today and CBS for replicating parts of the speech without permission. Nonetheless, it has licensed King’s words to be used in advertisements for a wide range of companies including Apple and Chevrolet.
The foundation that erected a statue in King’s honour in Washington’s National Mall reportedly paid $761,160 (£496,000) to use quotations and a further $71,000 in management fees.
Control of the King estate has been subject to legal battles in the past, with his three surviving children often at odds over the handling of his legacy.
The family has never been able to agree on a film treatment of King’s life story. Although none of the children has spoken against the film, none has backed it either.
Selma tackles complex issues in King’s life, including his multiple extramarital affairs, which were revealed to King’s wife, Coretta, by the FBI. The bureau’s director, J Edgar Hoover, tapped King’s phones for years, convinced he was a communist plotter.
Oyelowo has said in interviews that as a British actor of Nigerian descent it was easier for him to expose the weaknesses in King’s character than it would have been for an African-American actor brought up to revere the civil rights activist from an early age.
The “I have a dream” speech does not feature in the film, because it took place two years before the film’s main action is set. However, other key rallying calls from the marches King led through Alabama in 1965 have been substantially altered.
King’s famous chant of “Give us the ballot” has evolved into “Give us the vote”. In a scene at the funeral of protester Jimmie Lee Jackson, King is portrayed as asking the assembled crowd,“Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson?” when what he actually said was simply, “Who killed him?”
It was King himself who first used copyright to protect his speeches after unauthorised records of his 17-minute 1963 “I have a dream” speech in Washington were put on sale. In a later court ruling a judge determined that the speech qualified as a performance, rather than a public broadcast, giving it the same legal protection as a recording of a live concert.
The legal position has always been controversial, given that the content of King’s speech drew heavily on words and phrases used by other civil rights campaigners, took much of its content from historical documents, and adapted lines from Shakespeare’s Richard III.
Over the years the King estate has successfully sued media outlets including USA Today and CBS for replicating parts of the speech without permission. Nonetheless, it has licensed King’s words to be used in advertisements for a wide range of companies including Apple and Chevrolet.
The foundation that erected a statue in King’s honour in Washington’s National Mall reportedly paid $761,160 (£496,000) to use quotations and a further $71,000 in management fees.
Control of the King estate has been subject to legal battles in the past, with his three surviving children often at odds over the handling of his legacy.
The family has never been able to agree on a film treatment of King’s life story. Although none of the children has spoken against the film, none has backed it either.
Selma tackles complex issues in King’s life, including his multiple extramarital affairs, which were revealed to King’s wife, Coretta, by the FBI. The bureau’s director, J Edgar Hoover, tapped King’s phones for years, convinced he was a communist plotter.
Oyelowo has said in interviews that as a British actor of Nigerian descent it was easier for him to expose the weaknesses in King’s character than it would have been for an African-American actor brought up to revere the civil rights activist from an early age.
