Source: Cindy Ord / Getty
A federal judge in Denver has stopped a screening of “Amazing Grace” at the Telluride Film Festival following a lawsuit filed by Aretha Franklin to prevent it’s release.
U.S. District Judge John Kane granted Franklin’s request for a temporary restraining order, blocking the screening of ‘Amazing Grace’ a film that includes footage from the 1972 recording of the gospel album Franklin recorded with the same name. Franklin’s legal team maintains that the footage “was taken with the express understanding that it would not be used commercially without agreement and consent by Ms. Franklin.”
Kane cites a 2008 quitclaim deed that Alan Elliot, producer of “Amazing Grace,” obtained for the footage that makes reference to the need to get Franklin’s permission before using it, suggesting that this agreement should be upheld.
Attorneys for Franklin say that “Allowing the film to be shown violates Ms. Franklin’s contractual rights, her intellectual property rights, her rights to use and control her name and likeness, and represents an invasion of her privacy.”
