I wish someone would do me wrong! I can use the money.
But seriously is this too much?:
"The Canadian-born creator of the Spawn comic books, whose combined companies enjoyed earnings exceeding $50 million, is now in bankruptcy court after he borrowed a former NHL player’s name for one of his sinister character creations.
Todd McFarlane Productions Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., was forced to file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Friday after a U.S. jury awarded hockey player Tony Twist, also a Canadian, $15 million dollars claiming that McFarlane used his name without permission and that his publicity rights were infringed.
McFarlane created a violent mob boss character in the 1990s named Antonio Tony Twist Twistelli.
Twist, who played for the Quebec Nordiques and the St. Louis Blues, racked up over 1,000 penalty minutes before he retired in 1999, he was known for his fighting rather than his puck handling and skating skills.
He claimed the vicious comic book character hurt his image and cost him endorsements.
McFarlane made an appeal, arguing that his work was free speech, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it last January. The bankruptcy filing allows the comic creator’s company to continue operating and to adjust to its new financial situation, freeing it from the threat of creditors' lawsuits.
The ruling will definitely put a damper on McFarlane’s spending habits. In 1999 he shelled out $3 million for Mark McGwire’s 70th homerun baseball. Last year he paid $450,000 for Barry Bonds’ 73rd homerun ball and he owns another Sammy Sosa ball."
December 18, 2004
But seriously is this too much?:
"The Canadian-born creator of the Spawn comic books, whose combined companies enjoyed earnings exceeding $50 million, is now in bankruptcy court after he borrowed a former NHL player’s name for one of his sinister character creations.
Todd McFarlane Productions Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., was forced to file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Friday after a U.S. jury awarded hockey player Tony Twist, also a Canadian, $15 million dollars claiming that McFarlane used his name without permission and that his publicity rights were infringed.
McFarlane created a violent mob boss character in the 1990s named Antonio Tony Twist Twistelli.
Twist, who played for the Quebec Nordiques and the St. Louis Blues, racked up over 1,000 penalty minutes before he retired in 1999, he was known for his fighting rather than his puck handling and skating skills.
He claimed the vicious comic book character hurt his image and cost him endorsements.
McFarlane made an appeal, arguing that his work was free speech, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it last January. The bankruptcy filing allows the comic creator’s company to continue operating and to adjust to its new financial situation, freeing it from the threat of creditors' lawsuits.
The ruling will definitely put a damper on McFarlane’s spending habits. In 1999 he shelled out $3 million for Mark McGwire’s 70th homerun baseball. Last year he paid $450,000 for Barry Bonds’ 73rd homerun ball and he owns another Sammy Sosa ball."
December 18, 2004
