Take the money and run!

Feels like an April fools joke, but apparently it isn't. This news story just started making the rounds on all the major news sites..

In May of this year, dirty hipster and founder of American Apparel Dov Charney (I always thought he was a fictious character invented by Vice magazine, but apparently he exists irl..) decided to move avay from his standard ad material using lightly spandex clad girls with sloppy make-up, to using the original Jewish hipster, the talmud chacham - Woody Allen, on billboards in LA and New York, using a still from Annie Hall, claiming him a their spiritual leader. Allen, who apparently never has endorsed any products in the US just filed a lawsuit claiming $10 mil in damages.

Would the lawsuit have been for more or less had the billboard been a 'standard' AA ad, featuring Woody Allen crotch shots, showing of his 70year old package in spandex... we can only speculate..

Anyway, full story reads:

"Woody Allen sues American Apparel over Rabbi Billboard!

Woody Allen asked a federal court on Monday to strip a clothing company known for its racy ads featuring scantily clad models of at least $10 million for using his image on billboards and on the Internet.

In a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the actor-director said he does not endorse commercial products or services in the United States, which makes the May 2007 American Apparel billboards in Hollywood and New York and Web site displays "especially egregious and damaging."

The lawsuit said Allen was not contacted by the company and did not consent to the use of his image, which was taken from one of his movies.

American Apparel Inc., which is based in Los Angeles and operates worldwide, did not immediately reply to a telephone message seeking comment Monday.

The lawsuit complained of a billboard featuring a frame from "Annie Hall," a film that won Allen a best director Oscar. The image showed Allen, 72, dressed as a Hasidic Jew with a long beard and black hat and Yiddish text meaning "the holy rebbe." The words "American Apparel" also were on the billboard.

The billboard falsely implied that Allen sponsored, endorsed or was associated with American Apparel, said the lawsuit, which seeks at least $10 million in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages.

Allen's lawsuit describes him as among the most influential figures in the history of American film and a man who has maintained strict control over the projects with which he is associated.

The lawsuit accuses American Apparel of "blatant misappropriation and commercial use of Allen's image" and notes that the company on its Web site promotes itself as one known for "provocative photography."

In a news release two weeks ago, American Apparel Chairman Dov Charney called 2007 the company's most successful year and said the company planned to develop "into a pre-eminent global retail brand."

As of February 2007, American Apparel had more than 6,700 employees and operated 184 retail stores in 13 countries, according to its latest earnings release."