Putting famous (living) people in fiction

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

One of them is just going to be a cameo walk on, selling records out of a plastic carrier bag, then getting on a stage to sing.

I just got permission for this, subject to final aproval before it goes out.

[G J Lau]

As a novice author, thanks to one and all who contributed to this thread. Very informative. I took the route of using real people as the basis for some of my characters, but under very fictitious circumstances.

[ardeegee]

It isn't Teve Torbes, is it?

[crich70]

You could also have it be a case of mistaken identity. That is the character who your characters think starts the fight isn't the actual actor but someone who resembles the actor in question. There are people who do look quite a bit like actors. I remember a program on tv where they showed a man who looks quite a bit like Jack Nickelson for example. It is a potential minefield to use real people in fiction though I agree. Famous or not people don't always appreciate how they are portrayed in fiction if they are dropped into a story.

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

One of them is just going to be a cameo walk on, selling records out of a plastic carrier bag, then getting on a stage to sing. It's meant as a knowing wink to people who know who he is, because the characters in the story have no idea who he is until he gets on the stage. I don't see any problem in getting permission from him, and trying to sell people records from a carrier bag is something he is quite famous for.

The other has a more important role, because he instigates a fight that ends up inolving some of the characters, and a lot of the plot hinges around events that take place as a direct result of that fight. That one I might struggle with, so far I haven't found any contact details for him.

[apbschmitz]

There's a lot to be said for the when-in-doubt-leave-it-out advice above. I found often during a few decades of work as a journalist that I'd spend hours or days trying to nail some trivial point down, finally realize it wasn't going to happen, whack that particular line or two and then understand that it made absolutely no difference overall to the story. Though that was journalism, and most decidedly not art.

[Andrew Ashling]

Very informative. I didn't realize just how big a minefield this is.

How about 'citing' lyrics?

E.g.:

They left at the moment Olivia Newton-John began complaining 'I'm hopelessly devoted to you.'

Would this fall under fair use?

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Andrew Ashling

Very informative. I didn't realize just how big a minefield this is.

How about 'citing' lyrics?

E.g.:

They left at the moment Olivia Newton-John began complaining 'I'm hopelessly devoted to you.'

Would this fall under fair use?

I asked the BPI that, they said you would need permission. Getting permission can be anywhere between easy and impossible depending on the owner's ego. But you can use song titles and band/singer names without permission, so yours would be easy enough to get around.

[Andrew Ashling]

Thanks mr ploppy.

In the example I gave you could easily argue that you only mentioned the song's title.

What if this were to change into:

They left at the moment Olivia Newton-John began complaining 'But now there's nowhere to hide, since you pushed my love aside...'

Any idea what the consequences would be?

Actually, can I even cite this here?

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Andrew Ashling

Thanks mr ploppy.

In the example I gave you could easily argue that you only mentioned the song's title.

What if this were to change into:

They left at the moment Olivia Newton-John began complaining 'But now there's nowhere to hide, since you pushed my love aside...'

Any idea what the consequences would be?

Actually, can I even cite this here?

Theoretically they could either demand payment or suppress your book. That would probably be most likely if the person in question had sold the rights to the song to a multinational corporation. The descendents of dead songwriters also seem to be particularly protective. Things like this are probably one of the few worthwhile things that publishers would sort out for you.

Mostly I make up my own lyrics when I need them, but I did use a line from someone else's song in one story. Written by the same person who makes a cameo in one of the others, as it goes.