Scarlett Johansson is seeking
to avenge the unauthorized use of her name in a French novel in a suit filed
against publisher JC Lattes. She’s seeking compensation and damages from the
“breach and fraudulent use of personal rights,” as well as a ban on “future
transfer of rights and adaptations of the book.” In the novel The First Thing
We Look At, a woman shows up at the door of a mechanic in the northern village
of Somme seeking help. At first the mechanic believes she is ‘Scarlett
Johansson,’ though sixty pages later it is revealed she is not the actress but
simply a doppelganger named Jeanine Foucaprez.
Author Gregoire Delacourt told
newspaper Le Figaro that he was “stunned” when he was informed of the suit
Friday morning, and also noted that he compared the main male character to Ryan
Gosling and his boss to Gene Hackman in the book as an almost immediate way to
invoke recognition of characteristics for readers.
“This corresponds with the
fantasies of our times. All these famous people live with us,” he said, noting
that many personal details of Johansson’s love life have been revealed on the
Internet and the public feels as if it knows her. “But I wrote a book of
fiction. My character is not Scarlett Johansson, it is Jeanine Foucaprez!”
He describes the novel as an
exploration of the “dictatorship of appearances and the true beauty of women,”
and says he chose Johansson, currently the face of Dolce & Gabbana and
previously Louis Vuitton, because she is considered the “epitome of beauty
today.”
The First Thing We Look At has
been a best-seller in France since its release on March 20. (Source)
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