"I'll f*ck you and your dog until you love me, Dr. Fagg*t."

Three weeks ago, the man who gave Mike Tyson his infamous, er, iconic face tattoo had filed suit against the producers of The Hangover II, asking for an injunction to stop the film’s release, scheduled for this Thursday. The original complaint read in part:

“When Mr. [S. Victor] Whitmill created the Original Tattoo, Mr Tyson agreed that Mr. Whitmill would own the artwork and thus, the copyright in the Original Tattoo,” argues the complaint. “Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. — without attempting to contact Mr. Whitmill, obtain his permission, or credit his creation — has copied Mr. Whitmill’s Original Tattoo and placed it on the face of another actor … This unauthorized exploitation of the Original Tattoo constitutes copyright infringement.”

Now you’ll never believe this next part, but it seems a multi-billion dollar corporation can afford better lawyers than a guy who makes his living giving tribal face tattoos.

A St. Louis judge just ruled against  Mike Tyson’s tattoo artist’s request for an injunction, allowing The Hangover 2 to be released as scheduled on Thursday. [Deadline]

The case, however, isn’t over, this just means the judge won’t block the release. (If they resolved these things quickly, the lawyers couldn’t get paid so much).  Whitmill is still asking for $30 million in damages, and the judge even said he had a “strong likelihood of ultimately succeeding.”

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The guy who gave Mike Tyson his totally-awesome face tattoo is suing The Hangover 2 for using his design without permission, calling the tribal whatsit he gave Tyson usurped by Ed Helms in the movie “one of the most distinctive tattoos in the nation.”  No word on whether he also invented the barbed wire arm band and the piano key necktie.

S. Victor Whitmill, an award-winning tattoo artist who calls the Tyson design “one of the most distinctive tattoos in the nation,” is asking for an injunction to stop the release of the highly-anticipated comedy sequel, set to bow in the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend.

“When Mr. Whitmill created the Original Tattoo, Mr Tyson agreed that Mr. Whitmill would own the artwork and thus, the copyright in the Original Tattoo,” argues the complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Missouri and obtained by THR. “Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. — without attempting to contact Mr. Whitmill, obtain his permission, or credit his creation — has copied Mr. Whitmill’s Original Tattoo and placed it on the face of another actor … This unauthorized exploitation of the Original Tattoo constitutes copyright infringement.”

“When I put my artwork on a convicted rapist, I had no idea it would be used for something so sick and depraved as an easy joke in a comedy film.  We ask that the production be halted, and the defendant be required to f*ck me until you love me, fagg*t.”

The designs do look very similar. And what makes the matter dicey for Warners is that the tattoo on the Helms character appears to be a direct comedic reference to Tyson, who appeared extensively in the first film. That might make it tough to argue that the designs are merely coincidentally similar.

This according to section 18, paragraph four of the Missouri civil code, under the heading “NO SH*T.”

What’s scary for the studio is the request for an injunction to stop the movie’s release. A few years back, Warners was forced to fork over a hefty settlement to the author of the source material for its Dukes of Hazzard film when a judge issued an injunction weeks before the film’s release. [THR]

It does seem apt that in the same week that Fast Five made $83 million that there’d also be a custody battle for a crappy tribal tattoo.  (*dumps Brawndo on plants, flips on “Ow My Balls”*)

There’s a new red-band trailer out for The Hangover, from Old School director Todd Phillips, starring Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Brad Cooper.  The plot is that they wake up in Vegas after a bachelor party and one of their friends is missing.  And that friend is played by Justin Bartha. Which is good, because going most of the movie without Zach G. or Ed Helms would’ve been a shame.  Also, I don’t see why a person has to get married in order to have a bachelor party.  Why, this very evening, Spreckles and I will be attending a perfectly festive bachelor party for two.  I knitted us matching bow ties.
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After making Road Trip, Old School, and Starsky and Hutch, it wasn’t too long ago that Todd Phillips ( “Uh, I’m here for the gangbang?”) was one of the hottest directors in Hollywood.  He sort of fell of the map after School for Scoundrels, but then again, not everyone wants to make 15 movies a year like Judd Apatow. Anyway, below is the trailer for Phillips’ latest, The Hangover (currently attached to Watchmen), starring Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Bradley Cooper.  This trailer has pretty much everything:  Mike Tyson, a chicken, a naked guy in a trunk, a baby with sunglasses – heck, the only thing that’s missing is a tiger.  Wait no, I spoke too soon!

Wow, figure out how to work Sake Seal in there somewhere and I could die right now.
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James Toback is a writer/director who recently made the documentary Tyson, which will be premiering at Sundance, about his friend Mike Tyson.  It took about 20 seconds of this clip to convince me to see the movie.  Says Tyson:

“Tho you know I come from a real poverty thtwucken area, so when I came to live with Cus [Cus D’Amato, Tyson’s first trainer], they live in a 14-room Victorian mansion.  And when I first come there, I said, ‘Wow, I could really rob these white muf-ckas.’”

Funny, it was that exact revelation that launched the career of Larry the Cable Guy.

[via MTV]