"She stole my face and made 4 trillion won"... 'Avatar' sparks uproar over love scenes filmed using a minor's face

Source = NBC News [Financial News] Director James Cameron of the globally successful sci-fi film series 'Avatar' and The Walt Disney Company have become embroiled in a lawsuit over allegations that they illegally used the face of an indigenous actress who was 14 years old at the time to create the appearance of the character 'Neytiri'.
According to foreign media outlets such as BBC and NBC News on the 6th (local time), Korianka Kilcher (36), a German actress and activist of Peruvian descent, filed a lawsuit against Director Cameron and Disney the previous day, demanding the infringement of her portrait rights and the return of profits. Kilcher first gained recognition in 2005 for her role as Pocahontas in the film *The New World* at the age of 14.
According to the complaint, when Director Cameron was conceptualizing Neytiri, a key character in *Avatar*, he saw a photo of 14-year-old Kilcher published in *The Los Angeles Times* and instructed his design team to extract her facial features and use them as the basis for the character. Kilcher's side claims that her lips, jawline, and mouth shape were copied intact for the final design of Neytiri without any consent or compensation and used commercially.
The details of how Kilcher became aware of the theft have also been revealed. Kilcher met Director Cameron at an event in 2010 and received a sketch of Neytiri as a gift, accompanied by a handwritten note stating, "Your beauty was the initial inspiration for creating Neytiri.
" At the time, she regarded this as a simple gesture of goodwill, but legal action was initiated after a video circulated showing Director Cameron holding the sketch during a recent interview regarding the film *Avatar: Fire and Ashes* and directly revealing, "The actual source is Kilcher in the photo, and the lower part of Neytiri's face is hers.
" Kilcher's attorney strongly criticized the move, stating, "One of Hollywood's most influential directors exploited the biometric data and cultural heritage of a young Indigenous girl to create a record-breaking hit without providing any attribution or compensation," adding, "This is not artistic inspiration, but intentional commercial exploitation.
" In particular, this lawsuit is expected to cause a stir as it raises the possibility of violating California's laws regarding deepfake pornography, citing the fact that a character modeled after a minor's face performed intimate love scenes in the film.
Kilcher "It is very shocking that my face, when I was a 14-year-old girl, was used without my consent and brought massive profits to Disney and Cameron," she said, demanding punitive damages, the return of a portion of the profits, and an official public apology.
27 trillion won) worldwide from the first film alone, Director James Cameron and Disney have not yet released any official statement.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter