Just Asking: Were those Jack Nicholson Clips in the Hillary Ad Cleared For Use?

Posted by Eriq Gardner

By now, you've probably seen the Jack Nicholson political ad that culls together several of the actor's more famous performances in an amusing endorsement of Hillary Clinton. But if you haven't, click here.

The Towleroad blog has an interview with the two Hollywood veterans, John Krokidas and Bruce Cohen, behind the spot and how they developed it. According to the interview, Cohen ("American Beauty," ABC's "Pushing Daisies") took the ad to Rob Reiner's political consultant Chad Griffin, who took it to Reiner, who took it to Jack, who approved and filmed the last scene.

One question: Did anybody take it to the various studios that own the rights to "Batman," "The Shining," "A Few Good Men" and the other films spotlighted in the ad?

Mastercard once sued Ralph Nader for $15 million for showcasing a political advertisement that ripped off its "Priceless" campaign, and not only is this new Nicholson ad packed with copyrighted footage, but we can imagine that a number of people in Hollywood support the other Democratic candidate.