Yeah, so this is a weird one... The DP for my feature film "Killing Down" (Alan Lefebvre) was in a Walmart the other day and snapped this picture:













That is obviously a shot of "The Marine", an action flick that came out around the same time as "Killing Down". If you've never seen the DVD artwork (U.S. version) for my movie then this wouldn't mean a whole lot, but if you have then like me you probably did a doubletake.

Here's a side-by-side comparison:

















So as you can see they look A LOT ALIKE. We brought this to the attention of our US distributor and they said "we use the same graphic designers as the studios". So I guess that means they copy each other? Seems odd to me.

My guess is either the same guy did the work, or it was a blatant rip-off. Since "Killing Down" didn't hit DVD shelves in the U.S. until January 2008 (and "The Marine" was in late 2006 or early 2007), I'd say my DVD artwork is the derivative one here. Luckily the movies aren't exactly the same! :)

Oh, and just for the record, here's the artwork WE DID ORIGINALLY (and what is still being used overseas, unless someone has copied the "Die Hard" DVD cover...). :)
























-Blake

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