Many of you may have read our account of the hopefully finished monkey selfie saga. But if you haven’t you can give it a read by clicking here.
Basically, photographer David Slater found himself in court with a monkey that used his camera to snap a selfie. At first, Slater seemed to lose the rights to the selfie to Naruto the monkey but then the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States overturned that ruling and returned the rights to Slater.
A quick glance at any comments section on this story quickly reveals the varied reactions everyone has had to the story in the community: Ranging from disgusted to puzzled to those of us who appreciate the absurdities of life, the Naruto/Slater saga seems to be at an end, at least in the real world as Slater has reportedly optioned the rights to a dramatic film depiction of the Naruto monkey selfie saga.
This deal probably comes as a boon for embattled photographer Slater who has claimed the three-year saga has bankrupted him.
Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue and Vanity Fair, often commissions films of topical news stories but, the securing the rights to the monkey selfie story was apparently done in rapid time. One of 40 films currently in development at Conde Nast, Dawn Ostroff and Jeremy Steckler are in the process of finding writers for the proposed film according to FStoppers.
So what’s next for Naruto and David Slater? Potentially the big screen, or perhaps another run in court if People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals decides to appeal the appeal. The story has proven to be a touchstone for many photographers and animal rights activists, simultaneously drawing attention to both copyright law and animal preservation efforts at the same time.
Of course, we’ll keep you updated on this story as new chapters unfold.
