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Tuesday, April 11,
2000 Star's lawyers seek to purge Ally
McBile from Web game
Liza Cooperman
National
Post
Calista Flockhart's lawyers have issued a cease-and-desist letter
to a Web site company for including her image in their game, Bulimic
Blowdown at High Noon, which allows participants to pit their
favourite (rumoured to be) bulimic celebrities against one another
in a virtual spew-off.
In a letter to Zooass Enterprises, Inc., a Virginia-based
company, Barry W. Tyerman, who represents the Ally McBeal star,
characterizes the game as "an intentional infliction of emotional
distress [on his client]," and demands that Zooass Enterprises
"cease and desist immediately from any further use of [her] name,
likeness and/or other intangible rights."
The game features "Ally McBile," along with other characters
including Tori Spewing, Cough it up Cox, RegurgiKate Moss,
Spewliette Lewis, Fiona Scrapple, Mop it Up Manson, and our very
own, Latrine Dion.
Participants choose their character; an opponent (a member of the
outlaw "Chunkslinger" gang) is automatically appointed; and both
characters float into a backdrop of a Western town to the twangs of
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack.
A banner warns: Prepare to binge.
Dressed in all their finest (Ms. Spewing wears a tight, red
sparkly dress, while Ms. Cox wears an extra-emaciating slinky black
gown), the characters with their enormous bobbing heads begin the
game.
Prairie dogs randomly appear holding various Hostess snacks,
including Twinkies, Cupcakes and Hohos. The object of the game is to
shoot treats out of the Prairie dogs' paws and to pop them into the
chosen character's mouth. With every snack digested, the character
becomes increasingly full (bubbling green bile collects in the
stomach, which is amplified at the bottom of the screen). Finally,
when the stomach is full, participants click on "Purge," and the
character will stick her hand down her throat and projectile vomit
on her opponent. After eight consecutive wins, the character goes on
to battle the BulimiQueen.
"This use of our client's name, likeness and other intangible
rights is violative of Ms. Flockhart's common law and statutory
rights of privacy and publicity," the law firm alleges.
Zooass Enterprises does not see it that way.
"We were shocked when we received a cease-and-desist letter
requesting to remove Ally McBile, a fictitious character bearing an
uncanny likeness to [Calista Flockhart], from the game. After all,
the characters in the make-believe land of Bulimic Blowdown are
heroes," says Sir of Zooass.com.
"We're just poking fun at the twiggy Hollywood ideal," he says,
insisting that the characters in the game are based on excessively
thin celebrities in general.
Following the letter, however, Zooass Enterprises has decided to
remove the McBile character from the game. "But we have agreed to a
public flogging this spring," Sir jokes.
As for a character to replace McBile, Zooass.com is contemplating
other options, including the current front-runner, Lara Phlegm Bile.
"We were thinking about using Princess Di, who actually was bulimic
for a while," says Sir, "but even we have our boundaries."
RELATED
SITES:
(Each link opens a new window)
Bulimic Blowdown at High
Noon
Zooass.com's game of questionable taste is now a
little less accessible than it once was, thanks to Ms. Flockhart's
lawsuit. Other games, such as "Kick the Kitty" and "Disney
Erotica," are still alive and running.
Calista Flockhart Page
Calista has yet
to obtain an official home page, but this is the slow-loading site
of one of her most devoted fans.
National Eating Disorder Information
Centre
A Canadian page that seeks to help people with
common and uncommon eating disorders.
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