Lucas: Attack of the "Starballz"

Lucasfilm sues producers of animated porno titled Starballz for copyright and trademark violations

By Josh Grossberg Nov 01, 2001 7:10 PMTags
Suddenly the terms "light saber" and "Ewok" have whole new meanings.

Wanting to make sure Star Wars fans know "Jedi porn" is not a Force Yoda and Obi-Wan reckon with, George Lucas is suing the makers of an X-rated animé called Starballz.

Lucas and his company, Lucasfilm, filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco on Friday claiming the X-rated Starballz movie shamelessly rips off his Star Wars copyrights. The suit says Starballz is so similar to Star Wars that consumers could get the wrong impression and think Lucas endorsed the skin flick.

Aside from the damage it could cause his good reputation, Lucas & Co. say Starballz could also negatively impact the sales of Star Wars-related merchandise, including toys, games, books and CD-ROMs.

The Star Wars mastermind is seeking a cease-and-desist order to prevent Starballz producer Media Market Group from further distributing the pornographic 'toon, as well as potentially millions of dollars in damages from loss of sales.

The folks at Media Market Group insist they haven't gone over to the Dark Side. One of the company's partners, Linda Wildblood (whose name sounds oddly Star Wars-esque), says Starballz is simply a parody of several movies and pop-culture phenomena, not just Lucas' space opus, and is therefore protected under the First Amendment.

"Just like Scary Movie is a spoof of horror movies, Starballz parodies many different movies and themes," Wildblood tells the Associated Press. "No one in their right mind could look at it and say this is Star Wars."

To illustrate her point, she points to a scenes showing a Darth Vader-like character wearing Mickey Mouse ears and another with aliens dancing to the Full Montysoundtrack. Wildblood says the film also lampoons Die Hard, The Matrix, The Silence of the Lambs and Titanic.

According to its Website, starballz.com, the movie's plot follows "Wank Solo," who goes on a booty quest and comes to the rescue of a very horny princess being held hostage by the evil Ass Star. Wank's sidekick is named "Chewhowie," described as "a Wookiee version of Howard Stern," while Wank's enemy is Lord Limpbiscuit, touted as a manly stud version of Darth Vader.

The site tells viewers to be on the lookout for "déjà-vu movie scenes" and "a lot of sex," in addition to acknowledging that they also expect to get sued (gee, ya think?).

"It's clearly meant for humorous purposes," Wildblood says, pointing to the movie's video jacket, which displays several fake reviews ("Sex, violence, crude humor and hard-core music prevent this movie from being the masterpiece it could have been," reads one notice attributed to the Amish Tribune).

Media Market Group says it will strike back against the Lucas empire and continue to sell copies right up until a court order prevents them from doing so.

The suit also names eight other adult animé distributors as defendants.

Lucasfilm reps were unavailable to comment on the case, pending possible litigation.

The ever-vigilant, ever-litigious Lucas is fiercely protective of all things Star Wars. In July, he and his company blasted a medical-instruments maker who decided to name its newest gizmo--a powerful energy beam-related surgical device--the Light Saber.