Arnold Schwarzenegger is suing a Russian robot manufacturer for more than $10 million according to TMZ.
The terminator actor said he didn’t give his permission to use his likeness and voice for one of its creations during a public event that promoted its Android Robo-C.
The robot looks realistically like his own version with the same hair, skin and the recognizable square jawline. That was one of the highlights of the company when they want to show the market how they could customize a look-alike of a person.
According to a legal suit, the former governor of California is strict about anyone using his physical appearance for advertising and marketing for the reason that “such activity diminishes his hard-earned and well-deserved reputation as a major motion picture star”.
His lawyers said Schwarzenegger became the unwilling face of the product.
In 2019 in St. Petersburg, he was allegedly asked if he could pose for a photo with the robot from the head until the shoulders but he denied it.
After that, the Promobot didn’t refrain from using the android robot and still used it during the Consumer Technology Association conference earlier this year in Las Vegas.
The lawyer of Schwarzenegger, Marty Singer, sent a letter of cease and desist to the robot company demanding a stop. He made that clear to the company.
Singer is good in cases like this and has already won several ones including a $2.5 case for Priscilla Presley, who is far less known than the actor. If he would have accepted it, $10 million would be a little less just for using his likeness.
Promobot said it would stop using the Arnold-bot but then it showed up again at a New York Toy Fair by the end of February this year. Now, a lawsuit is not in the process of misappropriation of Schwarzenegger’s right of publicity.
According to the lawsuit, the actor’s company doesn’t only seek $10 million for the use of his face and voice of Promobot but profits that were made from the Arnold-bot and some other fees including the attorneys and punitive damages.
This isn’t the first time that the robotic head appeared somewhere. In 2017, another animatronic Schwarzenegger was also present during some series of PPI adverts. That campaign cost $42 million using his voice but was provided by David Brent, an impressionist.
The Promobot’ s Robo-C costs between $20,000- $50,000 depending on the kind of customization the client wants. It also features 600 different facial expressions.
As for Schwarzenegger’s next movie, he will be acting along together with Jackie Chan in Kung Fury 2.
Last year’s franchise for the Terminator got different mixed reviews and was worldwide box office disappointment. It got only $261 million from the box office from its $185 million budget.
Meanwhile, Arnold Schwarzenegger said March 3 was a very sad day for him when the announcement arrived that the Arnold Sports Festival would be closed to spectators because of the coronavirus.
This festival draws 20,000 athletes and more than 200,000 fans.
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