Terrence Howard Sues 20th Century Fox Over “Hustle & Flow” Image Used On “Empire”
Actor Terrence Howard has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, 20th Century Fox, claiming they used his likeness from his 2005 hit film “Hustle and Flow” for “Empire!”
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In the suit, Howard — who played Lucious Lyon on all 6 seasons of the series claimed 20th Century Fox used his likeness from a scene from the movie to create the “Empire” logo, according to TMZ. He claims they gave him the runaround when he asked how it came up with the “Empire” logo since he never did a photo shoot. After not getting a direct answer from the studio, Howard then determined that they just jacked it from the scene where his character DJay is recording his song “Hard Out Here For a Pimp” in a recording studio.
“The still frame was selected, reversed (face looking left, not right), and subjected to CGI that simply distilled the cinematographer’s skilled capture of the head with vibrant light and shadow,” the lawsuit alleges. Howard states that if Fox had gotten a proper license to use the image from Paramount, that he would have been paid.
The actor is suing for unspecified damages and he also wants a full accounting of Empire merchandise that was sold with that logo on it, according to TMZ.
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