Top 10 Times Movies Were Made Without Permission

“Zombi 2” (1979)

Picture it: you're driving near a New York City bridge during the summer of 1979 when all of a sudden you notice an ominous sight. An army of the walking dead is invading the city! But, you can't remember hearing anything about this on the news or via any kind of emergency broadcast. That's because Lucio Fulci and crew apparently never officially cleared this shoot with the city they were shooting this big scene beforehand. So although the area was ready to harbor all of the extras that day, traffic wasn’t controlled. As a result, you see cars in the background, going about their day despite a zombie apocalypse. Just another day in the big city, we guess.

“Easy Rider: The Ride Back”
The beloved movie “Easy Rider” wrapped up with the narrative coming full circle and the deaths of the main characters.That’s what made it so baffling to hear that someone was trying to add to the franchise. Decades after the original film was released, Philip Pitzer took advantage of some legal maneuvering and got his hands on the rights to make another film in the same world. But he didn’t have the approval of any of the original talent. His attempts to reuse footage shot for the original film were also halted. Despite not having anyone’s blessing, Pitzer completed the movie...and it was a total flop. This “Easy Rider” followup was meant to crash and burn.

"The Hangover Part II" (2011)
Are tattoo images able to be copyrighted? Artist S. Victor Whitmill certainly believed so, which is why he decided to sue Warner Bros. prior to the release of "The Hangover Part II" in 2011. Whitmill charged that his image was infringed upon when Ed Helms' character got the same facial tattoo the artist gave to boxing legend Mike Tyson. Although Warner Bros. fought the lawsuit, they were ultimately forced to digitally alter the image for home video. But since they could’ve had to remove the tattoo from posters or had the release halted, they got off pretty easy. This case showed that it’s best to ask for permission before using art that appears anywhere on an actor.

"The Bronx Bull" (2016)
Expanding on the story of an iconic film may be a sensitive subject, especially when not all parties are on board. A crew from Sunset Pictures working on "The Bronx Bull" certainly found this out when they initially titled their film "Raging Bull II: Continuing the Story of Jake LaMotta." MGM, who helped produce the original Martin Scorsese classic, naturally objected to this idea. But Sunset Pictures argued that their deal was valid. They mainly said it was legitimate because of their connection with the real-life Jake LaMotta. While his original memoir served as the foundation for "Raging Bull.", Sunset Pictures was adapting the sequel to that book. In the end, Sunset changed their title to "The Bronx Bull." and the lawsuit was dropped.

"Cruel Jaws" (1995)
There are some filmmakers that don’t mind, let’s say..."borrowing" plot points from other successful Hollywood films. It sometimes even got to the point where alternate titles were being used in order to confuse the international market. "Cruel Jaws" was one of the most infamous examples of this practice. This late-cycle sharksploitation offering was actually marketed as "Jaws 5" in some countries. Beyond this, director Bruno Mattei and company even went so far as to insert shots from the "Jaws" franchise into their movie. If that wasn’t enough, they also ripped off other, older Italian shark pictures like "Deep Blood" and "Great White." Oh, and "Cruel Jaws" also heisted this little bit of music you might be familiar with...[1]

"Escape From Tomorrow" (2013)
While viewers can argue about "Escape From Tomorrow’s” quality, everyone would agree the story behind its production is insanely interesting. The film is set in Walt Disney theme parks. Since the company is usually careful about preserving the image of their parks, they don’t always permit film crews to shoot in these fun locations without prior approval. However, this didn't stop writer/director Randy Moore from secretly shooting his film in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. He used a hand held camera to film actors while they posed as tourists. Moore was so paranoid about being caught that he chose to edit the film in South Korea. Ultimately, Disney let the film be released instead of risking it getting any more attention by fighting it.

"Pulgasari" (1985)
Former North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il was a serious movie buff. His love of films was so extreme that he held people hostage to produce a film? "Pulgasari" is a 1985 North Korean kaiju picture produced by Jong-il that involved director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee. Although the filmmakers were reportedly held in lavish locations and encouraged to share their film opinions with Jong-Il, they were still being held against their will and longed to escape. "Pulgasari" was just one of the films they produced while in North Korea, a giant monster movie with heavy themes of propaganda in line with Jong-Il's political beliefs. After the movie was released, the pair finally managed a harrowing escape to the U.S. in 1986.

"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" (1970)
"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" is one of the best remembered cult classics from exploitation auteur Russ Meyer. It’s an out-there psychedelic trip featuring a screenplay from none other than film critic Roger Ebert. However, not everyone was happy with the film, particularly Jacqueline Susann, whose 1966 novel "Valley of the Dolls" was adapted for the screen in 1967. Susann sued Fox after the sequel’s release, objecting to its heavy adult content while requesting ten million in damages. The studio was forced to place a disclaimer separating Meyer and Ebert's vision from Susann's original while the suit was ongoing. This case was ultimately settled after Susann’s passing to the tune of two million in 1975.

"Casino Royale" (1967) and "Never Say Never Again" (1983)

The James Bond franchise differs wildly in terms of stars, music and mood. One near-constant for the series, however, has been its production under the banner of EON Productions. One of the first exceptions to the rule was 1967's "Casino Royale.” This movie was produced by Columbia as a comedic parody starring David Niven. The film took this tone because producer Charles Feldman couldn't make a deal with Eon Productions. "Never Say Never Again" was another story. Since it opened the same year as Roger Moore’s franchise entry “Octopussy” 1983 had two Bond films with different leds. Despite that fact, both movies were financially successful. However, Connery’s entry was forced to omit the classic gun-barrel opening due to Eon's ownership.

"This Is Not a Film" (2011)
Making a movie under normal circumstances is hard enough. Now imagine the challenge of putting together a film when you're in trouble with an entire country. This is just part of the story behind "This Is Not a Film," a 2011 documentary shot on an IPhone by Jafar Panani. In 2010, Panani was given a prison sentence for apparent crimes he committed against Iran. He was also banned from starting any new film projects for 20 years. And yet, Panahai managed to shoot this feature while awaiting appeal, documenting his daily life for the world to see. Furthermore, the film was smuggled out of Iran to the Cannes Film Festival on a flash drive buried in a birthday cake. The movie was widely celebrated by critics after breaking a lot of rules.