Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Ward Churchill at DePaul follow up: Ward threatens documentary filmmaker with lawsuit


Chicago-area filmmaker Grant Crowell of Walking Eagle Productions has been, without Ward Churchill's help, working on a documentary about the world's most famous phony Indian.

In the Hawaii Reporter, here is an excerpt from an article written by Crowell:

Below is Churchill’s email to me:
Okay, Mr. Walking Eagle, try this:

What I say is copyrighted, just like the work of any other "performer," to be recorded only with my express permission, and subsequently used in any fashion whatsoever only with my explicit consent.'''

You, for whatever reason(s), seem to have an extraordinarily difficult time wrapping your mind around the simple fact that I am under NO obligation to allow you to record me (or otherwise participate in your various "projects").

Translated, that means the following: although you're obviously entitled to purchase any/all of my CDs, you have NO "entitlement" to record me yourself.

The fact that you had a pocket-sized recording device smuggled into the room where I spoke at DePaul, despite the express prohibition on doing so repeatedly announced by the sponsors, has resulted in you/anyone associated with "Walking Eagle Productions" being permanently barred from recording my talks.

Should "bootleg" recordings of my material turn up in anything you happen to produce -- a "documentary film," for instance -- you may rest assurred that you will be sued on exactly the same grounds as you would were you to use material recorded without authorization at a Dylan or Steve Earle concert.

My attorney, to whom this correspondence in cc'd, has suggested I make the above absolutely clear to you. Therefore, I have. Any further communications in this or related matters will be from him/his associations.

Consider yourself warned, Ward Churchill

Here is the audio of Ward Churchill’s speech at DePaul

http://www.andrewmarcus.com/blog/mentalward

Odd, that of all the artists (besides Dylan) Ward could've mentioned, he brings up that Texas moonbat, Steve Earle.

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