The Weinsteins “own” the word ‘grindhouse’?

Updated on August 26, 2009 By Ken Begg 6 Comments

I noted that the previously announced Grindhouse Greats collection, which hit DVD shelves on Tuesday, was now called Gorehouse Greats on Amazon.  (Which is dumb, as all the films are arguably grindhouse fare, but not all of them are particularly gorey.)  Reader ‘D’ provided an explanation:  “Gorehouse is correct. They were bullied into changing it by a lawsuit from the Weinsteins, who now think they absolutely own the word Grindhouse.” 

The Weinstein Brothers (founders and former owners of Miramax) are the guys who (very poorly) released the movie Grindhouse into theaters.  So that means they now own the generic term ‘grindhouse’?  For the love of Pete.  Sadly, this sort of stupidity and bullying has been going on for decades.  For a particularly hilarious example (and proof that Groucho Marx was as much of a smartass in real life as he was on the screen), click here.

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  • fish eye no miko

    I’ve heard the Groucho Marx story before, so as soon as I saw that picture with that caption, I chuckled.

    It’d be great if someone with some Hollywood muscle and good lawyers intentionally used the word “Grindhouse” in some capacity to get the Weinsteins to realize just how stupid their claim is. Gah…

  • The problem, of course, is a small DVD company can’t afford the legal bills to fight this, so they cave. Warners had a huge legal staff, but I think they may have realized how they’d end up looking if they actually sued and faced Groucho in a courtroom. (Man, that would have been a great Marx Brothers movie, though. Weird, now that I think about it, that the Marx Brothers never did a capers in a courtroom movie. It would have been right up their alley.)

    But yes, the Weinsteins are bullying assholes, and have had that reputation for a long time.

  • Peter Johnson

    Weird, now that I think about it, that the Marx Brothers never did a capers in a courtroom movie. It would have been right up their alley.)

    Well, it didn’t take up the whole movie, but what about Chico’s trial in “Duck Soup”?

    Prosecutor: Chicolini, you are charged with high treason, and if found guilty, you will be shot.
    Chicolini: I object.
    Prosecutor: You object? On what grounds?
    Chicolini: I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
    Rufus T. Firefly: Objection sustained.
    Prosecutor: Your majesty, you sustain the objection?
    Rufus T. Firefly: Sure, I couldn’t think of anything else to say either. Why don’t you object?

  • Good call, Peter. But surely if they could do a movie (and a great one at that) based on the worlds of opera and academia, a film upstaging the legal system would have been right up their alley. Groucho arguing a case before the Supreme Court? A natural!

  • That Groucho letter reminds me of some of the letters Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka fires off every time someone tries to sue SomethingAwful.com. Wonder if that’s where he got his inspiration.

  • simbo

    They never did a movie in a courtroom setting, no, but the radio series “Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel” (which only had Chico and Groucho, largely because Harpo’s stuff isn’t radio stuff) had them as shonky lawyers…