Actors' likenesses on covers

[F. King Daniel]

Weird brain fart. Bear with me.

Pocket Books have the rights to depict the various Star Trek actors and spaceships and sets on the covers of their novels. Will that always be the case?

I know this is a completely different set of circumstances, but I was in a book store earlier and came across a Harry Potter book. My immediate thought upon looking at the cartoon cover was, "That's not Harry Potter!" Now I know Harry Potter was a book series long before it was a film franchise, and so rights to film-related stuff is seperate from the books , but nonetheless it got me wondering if Trek's "visual" rights are seperate from those to use the characters' names, locales, ship names etc that make up Trek's copyrighted universe - and if one day (presumably as a cost-cutting measure), we'll see a Kirk on the cover of an officially-licenced Trek novel who resembles neither William Shatner nor Chris Pine? Or maybe a USS Enterprise which doesn't quite match any TV/film incarnation of the ship?

 

[Stevil2001]

I don't know the answer to this question, but the BBC seem to have had short-term rights to some aspects of Billie Piper's image, for example. Pictures of Rose still turn up inside books, I think, but reprints of books where she was on the cover now omit her and just show the Doctor.

 

[David Mack]

The rights to use actors' likenesses on Trek products varies from actor to actor, depending upon the contracts they and their agents negotiated. Some actors have full approval rights, meaning they get to sign off or reject any use of their likeness; others have limited approval privileges; some have none. It's all handled on a case-by-case basis via the CBS Consumer Products licensing office.

 

[MvComedy]

Does it make a difference if an actual photo of an actor is used, versus an artist's depiction of the character whom the actor portrayed? For instance, the Typhon Pact novels all have pictures of characters which, I assume, are all taken directly from stock or promo photos of the actors and then digitally edited. But many novels use art depicting characters that was obviously created from scratch. This is more common in older novels, but also some more recent ones have used art such as Kira's picture on Unity and Garak on A Stitch in Time. Obviously, the art covers are portraying characters whose likeness is based on the actors that portray them. But do the actors have the same kind of input on whether a book cover can feature a piece of art depicting a character who is the intellectual property of Paramount, even if that character's appearance is based on the actor, as they would on a book featuring an actual photo of the actor like the Typhon Pact series does?

 

[David Mack]

^ It's too complicated to detail the specifics that minutely. The only answer I can offer is, "It depends." Some actors' contracts permit them to vet any representation of their likeness; others have pre-approved certain sets of photo reference; some have no approval rights at all. In some cases, using an illustration makes a difference, but in most it doesn't.

 

[Christopher]

My understanding was that a likeness is a likeness -- if you don't have the right to use a photo, you don't have the right to use an accurate painting or drawing either. That's why the Harry Mudd who appears in DC's TOS comics only looks broadly similar to Roger C. Carmel.

 

[Greg Cox]

This is not an new issue. When Marvel did their Planet of the Apes comic book adaptation back in the seventies, they didn't have the rights to use Charlton Heston's image so they just drew Taylor as a generic leading man.

And I can think of at least a few tie-in projects (which shall go nameless) where the publisher discovered that they didn't necessarily have to rights to use one or more of the actors on the cover. I actually pulled out of a deal once, when I discovered that Tor was going to have to pay extra to put the star of the show on the cover!

 

[captcalhoun]

Bare with me.

no thanks. i will bear with you though.

 

[F. King Daniel]

^Ugh. I can't believe I did that.

The rights to use actors' likenesses on Trek products varies from actor to actor, depending upon the contracts they and their agents negotiated. Some actors have full approval rights, meaning they get to sign off or reject any use of their likeness; others have limited approval privileges; some have none. It's all handled on a case-by-case basis via the CBS Consumer Products licensing office.

But are those likenesses and approvals linked to the characters they played on the shows, or just images of the actor/actress? Could William Shatner reject a Pocket Books' recast Kirk on the cover of a novel set in the Original Series universe?

 

[TheAlmanac]

I don't know the answer to this question, but the BBC seem to have had short-term rights to some aspects of Billie Piper's image, for example. Pictures of Rose still turn up inside books, I think, but reprints of books where she was on the cover now omit her and just show the Doctor.

Seriously? Does that mean those early novels featuring the Ninth and Tenth Doctors with Rose now lack Billie Piper's image on their covers?

 

[David Mack]

But are those likenesses and approvals linked to the characters they played on the shows, or just images of the actor/actress? Could William Shatner reject a Pocket Books' recast Kirk on the cover of a novel set in the Original Series universe?

No, Shatner would not be entitled to approvals on images of Chris Pine. Approvals are not linked to the characters' likenesses, only those of the actors themselves.

 

[F. King Daniel]

But are those likenesses and approvals linked to the characters they played on the shows, or just images of the actor/actress? Could William Shatner reject a Pocket Books' recast Kirk on the cover of a novel set in the Original Series universe?

No, Shatner would not be entitled to approvals on images of Chris Pine. Approvals are not linked to the characters' likenesses, only those of the actors themselves.

I didn't mean Chis Pine, but some generic Kirk in place of Shatner.

But thanks, that did answer my question.

 

[Stevil2001]

I don't know the answer to this question, but the BBC seem to have had short-term rights to some aspects of Billie Piper's image, for example. Pictures of Rose still turn up inside books, I think, but reprints of books where she was on the cover now omit her and just show the Doctor.

Seriously? Does that mean those early novels featuring the Ninth and Tenth Doctors with Rose now lack Billie Piper's image on their covers?

So I've heard-- pictures on Amazon typically have the original covers. But here's the cover for the audiobook of The Monsters Inside, which is just out.

 

[Jedi_Master]

The rights to use actors' likenesses on Trek products varies from actor to actor, depending upon the contracts they and their agents negotiated. Some actors have full approval rights, meaning they get to sign off or reject any use of their likeness; others have limited approval privileges; some have none. It's all handled on a case-by-case basis via the CBS Consumer Products licensing office.

Perhaps we could do a study of covers - and try to extrapolate who does not like to see their images on book covers.
Just off the bat - it seems that Worf has been on a lot of covers.

 

[DS9forever]

^ Memory Beta has categories of novel covers by series which could help you:

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Memory_Beta_images_(DS9_novel_covers)

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Memory_Beta_images_(TNG_novel_covers)

 

[Jedi_Master]

^ Memory Beta has categories of novel covers by series which could help you:

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Memory_Beta_images_(DS9_novel_covers)

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Memory_Beta_images_(TNG_novel_covers)

Nice links. See a LOT of Kira and Sisko, virtually no Obrien covers.

 

[Jedi_Master]

And apparently Picard's shiny dome sells lots of TNG novels.

 

[captcalhoun]

well, he is the captain.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Perhaps we could do a study of covers - and try to extrapolate who does not like to see their images on book covers.

But that's not how it works. Some actors' agents fought for likeness approval, some don't care and some characters are way more popular than others. So absence from cover art doesn't indicate whether an actor has approval or not.

A novel about Crusher, Worf and an alien might end up featuring just Worf and the alien. A novel about Picard might end up with a starship cover.

Sometimes the licensees get caught by surprise. Leonard Nimoy famously used his photo approval clause to stymie the publication of Susan Sackett's revisionist coffee table book (a book of the history of Star Trek without any images of Spock would be an impossible sell). Playmates TMP Spock figure had to get sold with no collector card because someone forgot to ask Nimoy for sign-off. LeVar Burton won limited approvals on the strength of his "Reading Rainbow" and "Roots" fame, and he disallowed one Playmates action figure because they were planning a headswap with a previously sculpted head - and his old hairstyle. And so on.

Some actors have pre-approved a small set of publicity stills, and that makes it a bit easier for the designers, and that's probably why we see certain well-used images pop up time and again. If they take the risk on a brand new pose, the actor might not give approval and the artist's time is wasted.

And apparently Picard's shiny dome sells lots of TNG novels.

But he did veto his Applause figural Toby jug. Applause did the whole crew and several guest aliens, but no Picard, possibly because he was worried the open top made fun of his bald head?

IIRC, he often complained about his hair in the DC Comics.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Obviously one could not draw a clear conclusion. But the results would still be interesting, for a variety of reasons. Picard is a striking character, and he is on LOTS of books. Perhaps it would be more valid to compare the covers of the books from the pre - internet era, when the cover art helped sell the book.