Ghostface Killah Sued For Sampling 'Iron Man' Theme Song

Wu-Tang Clan rapper has long had a fascination with the superhero.
By Gil Kaufman


Ghostface Killah
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

The Wu-Tang Clan has never been shy about flaunting their influences: from martial arts to La Cosa Nostra, chess and, of course, superhero comics. But member Ghostface Killah's love of one Marvel icon in particular, Iron Man, is putting the Shaolin rapper in some hot legal water.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, composer Jack Urbont is suing Sony Music Entertainment and Ghostface (born Dennis Coles) over claims the rapper illegally sampled his "Iron Man Theme" from the 1960s "The Marvel Super Heroes" TV show.

Ghostface, who named his 1996 solo debut Ironman, and whose many aliases include Ironman and the superhero's alter ego, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (which Ghostface spells Starks), has long had a fascination with the character. But Urbont claims in his suit that two songs on Ghostface's second album, 2000's Supreme Clientele copied "verbatim" the "Theme" he wrote for the show.

Urbont is an actor and Broadway producer who has also written theme music for everything from daytime soaps such as "General Hospital" to music for "That '70s Show" and "The View." The Reporter speculated that Urbont's suit came so long after the album's release because the composer "may have grown tired of seeing Killah's name attached to his music on the Internet."

The character has obviously gotten a much higher profile over the past few years thanks to the two "Iron Man" movies. In fact, one of Ghostface's songs, "Slept on Tony with Dirt," appeared in the 2008 "Iron Man" movie and the rapper appears in a deleted scene on the DVD version of the film.

The case is described as a typical copyright infringement claim, but the Reporter noted that Urbont's lawyers also threw in an unfair competition claim. "Defendant Ghostface is also known for the nickname 'Tony Starks,' which is a take-off of the name 'Tony Stark,' Iron Man's real name and true identity. In this way, Defendants' use of Urbont's 'Iron Man Theme' gives them a substantial commercial advantage by linking Ghostface to Iron Man without paying for it," the allegation reads.

A spokesperson for the rapper had no comment on the lawsuit.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666971/ghostface-killah-iron-man.jhtml

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Angie Harmon's Bakery Bunch

Actress Angie Harmon was spotted out and about in West Hollywood, California yesterday with her two youngest daughters Avery, 6, and Emery, 2 (July 6). Big sister Finley, 7, wan't with the pretty trio, who stopped off for a treat at Magnolia Bakery.

It seems the girls are back on the West coast for a visit with mom - Angie films her show Rizzoli & Isles in LA while the kids and dad Jason Sehorn stay at the family's North Carolina home.

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Source: http://celebritybabyscoop.com/2011/07/07/angie-harmon-bakery-bunch

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Usher To Donate Gadhafi Money To Charity

'I will be donating all of my personal proceeds...to various human rights organizations,' singer says of concert linked to Libyan dictator.
By Shawn Adler


Usher (file)
Photo: Getty Images

R&B superstar Usher announced Friday (March 4) that he was donating to various charities proceeds from appearing at a private event at St. Barts linked to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, according to a statement made to the Associated Press.

The Grammy award winner's renouncement comes after similar announcements from singers Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado, and Beyoncé, all of whom were revealed to have performed at private concerts linked to the Middle Eastern leader, who has faced open revolt and major political uprisings since February.

"I am sincerely troubled to learn about the circumstances surrounding the Nikki Beach St. Bart's event that took place on New Year's Eve 2009," Usher said of the concert, at which he appeared alongside Beyoncé but did not perform. "I will be donating all of my personal proceeds from that event to various human rights organizations."

Usher has already begun the process, having made a donation to Amnesty International, the AP reports. The exact size of the donation is not known.

The New Year's Eve gig was reportedly for Moammar's fourth son Muastassim, who an unnamed music industry source told MTV News has a history of throwing lavish parties "jammed" with supermodels.

Beyoncé, who sang at the event, donated all proceeds from her performance to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, established in the wake of the Haitian earthquake.

"All monies paid to Beyoncé for her performance at a private party at Nikki Beach St. Barts on New Year's Eve 2009, including the commissions paid to her booking agency, were donated to the earthquake relief efforts for Haiti over a year ago," the "Halo" singer's publicist said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "Once it became known that the third-party promoter was linked to the Qaddafi family, the decision was made to put that payment to a good cause."

Singer Nelly Furtado tweeted February 28 that she plans to make similar amends.

"In 2007, I received 1million$ from the Gadhafi clan to perform a 45 min. show for guests at a hotel in Italy," she tweeted. "I am going to donate the $."

The leader of Libya since a successful military coup in 1969, Gadhafi has reportedly lost control of much of his country as a result of widespread uprisings. The United Nations voted unanimously to refer the dictator to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1659301/usher-donate-gadhafi-money-charity.jhtml

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Snooki's Ex-BF: MTV's Turning Her into an Alcoholic!

Filed under: Snooki, Emilio Masella, Jersey Shore, Drunks

Snooki's ex-boyfriend is NOT amused by her recent boozy plant dance -- and he's airing his feelings across the Internet, claiming MTV is to blame for "turning Nicole into an alcoholic".

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Emilio Masella -- who dated Snooki for two short months last year -- just blasted the network over Snooki's plant-dance video, writing on his Twitter, "This is Disgusting. MTV's Jersey Shore is turning Nicole into an Alcoholic. They are killin her liver. That's not the nicole I knew! Poor girl."

070711-snooki-small_vid_lauchEmilio doesn't fault the guidette for her behavior -- claiming, "The Vid on TMZ with Nicole Dancing with the plant, is a total embarrassment. I blame Production."

He adds, "They won't learn till she hurts herself."

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2011/07/07/snooki-jersey-shore-mtv-emilio-masella-nicole-polizzi-alcoholic-drunk-plant-dancing-reality-tv-tmz-twitter/

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Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry: Who's The Most Patriotic Diva?

Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Christina Aguilera are also in the running this Fourth of July.
By John Mitchell, with additional reporting by Danielle Genet


Beyoncé
Photo: Columbia

Today is the Fourth of July — happy birthday, America! — and that means it's time to celebrate the most patriotic ladies in music! Whether they're singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of millions or wearing their love of their country on their sleeve (sometimes very literally), these ladies are living the American dream.

And this isn't some arbitrary ranking, either! To determine who the most patriotic divas are, we got positively scientific (just go with it). We assessed these ladies' patriotism based on four areas. Each was awarded one point if she, A) appeared at a patriotic event or in a pro-America public service announcement, B) was photographed wearing American flag-related clothing, C) sang the national anthem at a public event or D) released an America-themed song. The lady with the most points won.

So who are the top America-lovin' ladies in music today? Check 'em out!

Britney Spears
Spears famously appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 2000 wearing an American-flag belly shirt with a play on Uncle Sam's famous saying running beside her: "Britney Wants You!" We decided to be pretty liberal with what constitutes a patriotic event, so we are going to give Spears a combined single point for appearing at two very American (but not specifically about America) events: the NASCAR Winston Cup Pepsi 400 in 2001 and the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show.

Alas, Spears has not released a song specifically about America, despite being "Miss American Dream since I was 17." She also, curiously enough, hasn't performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" in her pop-star era. (There is a six-second YouTube clip of her performing the national anthem at age 8, but she wasn't a sanctioned diva back then.)

Score: 2

Miley Cyrus
We thought of Cyrus for this list specifically because of her good-times jam "Party in the U.S.A.," which is not only about America but weirdly became a bona fide anthem that reflected the mood in the country following the death of Osama Bin Laden.

But just when we thought we could award the young pop star only one point, we stumbled upon her PSA for the American Red Cross, asking for support in the wake of the earthquake that ravaged northern Japan earlier this year. Way to lend your celebrity to both a very American organization and an allied country in dire need, Miley!

Score: 2

Lady Gaga
America is all about being yourself. We are a melting pot, after all. And Lady Gaga is all about being herself, and she wants you to be yourself too — there's nothing more American than that!

We'd love to see her put those killer pipes to use and sing the national anthem, but she hasn't done it just yet. She does earn points, however, in the three other areas of our survey. Gaga is, interestingly, perhaps the pop star most involved in the democratic process. Last year she spoke at the National Equality March and at rallies in Maine to encourage the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. She even appeared in a PSA for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network asking her fans to contact their senators to voice their displeasure with the policy.

On the sartorial front, she sported an American-flag bikini in her "Telephone" video. (Wouldn't you have been more surprised if we had told you that Lady Gaga had never worn the American flag?) She also has a song on her most recent album, Born This Way, called "Americano."

Score: 3

Christina Aguilera
Aguilera is known for her awesome singing voice, so it's no surprise that she has performed the national anthem at several major events, including this year's Super Bowl, where she mangled the lyrics something fierce in an uncommon bout of nervousness. (That's what it was, right? Seriously, she's done "The Star-Spangled Banner" about a thousand times!)

The "Beautiful" singer also filmed PSAs for "Rock the Vote" in 2008 to encourage young people to get out and do their duty as U.S. citizens. In the clips, she sings "America the Beautiful" a cappella while holding her newborn son Max, who is wrapped in an American flag (double points!). Yes, Aguilera herself isn't draped in the flag, but we thought we'd give her the point anyway because of her USO-themed video for "Candyman."

Score: 3

Katy Perry
Perry impresses in three of our categories. Late last year, she performed at the "USO Presents: VH1 Divas Salute the Troops" concert at Miramar, California, where she also wore an American-flag bustier. That is not the only instance of flag-waving clothing Perry has sported, however. During an appearance on British TV show James Corden's "World Cup Live!," Perry wore a latex flag dress.

Given her frequent pro-America attire, we're going to give Perry the benefit of the doubt and count her pro-tolerance anthem "Firework" as an America-themed song, because in America, all men and women are created equal, and that's basically what "Firework" is all about. Also, it's the Fourth of July, people. Fireworks!

Score: 3

Beyoncé
Was it even really a contest? Beyoncé sang (and nailed) "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 2004 Super Bowl in her hometown of Houston, Texas.

What's more American than singing the national anthem at America's most-watched sporting event? Well, perhaps being personally asked by the president to perform at his inauguration. The girl (who runs the world) was asked to sing "At Last" while Barack and Michelle Obama had their first dance as president and first lady of the United States.

Beyoncé recently released a cover of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." to benefit the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. (Seriously, could she be more awesome?) Having worn the American flag as a dress to get down opposite Lady Gaga in the video for "Telephone," Queen B is the only diva who fulfills all our categories.

When it comes to Beyoncé and America, we could go on and on — she recently repurposed one of her hits for Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" anti-obesity campaign, and in 2001, she performed with Destiny's Child at the United We Stand: What More Can I Give? benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. — wearing American-flag pants, we might add. But it's the Fourth of July, and we think a real patriot like B would prefer you get out and celebrate America's 235th birthday instead of celebrating her dedication to the US of A!

Score: 4 (OMG, you guys, not only is 4 B's lucky number, it's the name of her latest record!)

Who did we miss? Share your pick for the most patriotic diva in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666769/fourth-of-july-4th-beyonce-lady-gaga.jhtml

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