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Madonna video row
By Laura Benjamin, Daily Mail Last updated at 00:00am on 02.10.03
Spot the difference: Bourdin's image (above) and Madonna's video (below)
As the queen of reinvention, Madonna rarely looks to others for inspiration.
From raunchy pop star to demure children's author, the singer constantly keeps ahead of the trends.
According to the family of late French photographer Guy Bourdin, however, that isn't always the case.
They are claiming that several parts of the video of her song Hollywood are based on at least 11 of his images.
'It's one thing to draw inspiration, it's quite another to simply use the heart and soul of my father's work,' said Bourdin's son Samuel, as he filed a lawsuit against the singer at Manhattan's Federal Court.
Bourdin also displayed photographs taken by his father which bear a striking resemblance to Madonna's video.
At one point she sits on top of a television and spreads her legs. In another she stares into a mirror while dressed in pink underwear - both similar to Bourdin's images.
Family lawyer John Koegel said: 'This is more than inspiration. An overwhelming number of the scenes in the Hollywood video are overtly and substantially derived from the Bourdin works. Factors such as composition, background, wardrobe, lighting, narrative, camera angle, decor and objects depicted are strikingly similar.
'There are very few scenes or sequences in the Hollywood video that are not directly derived from the Bourdin works.'
Madonna, 45, who is married to British film director Guy Ritchie, is said to be familiar with his work.
She recently toured an exhibition of his photographs at London's Victoria and Albert Museum and is said to have described him as 'so sick and interesting'.
The video's director, French-born Jean-Baptiste Mondino, and Madonna's record company Warner Brothers are also being sued by the Bourdin family.
Bourdin, who died in 1991 at age 63, was described in the lawsuit as 'a ground-breaking image-maker who had a profoundly influential impact on fashion photography'.
This is not the first time the Hollywood video has attracted controversy. In it, the singer appears to receive Botox injections.
Last night, a spokesman for Madonna declined to comment.
