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[Suaviterinmodo]

Q & A with Stuart Elliott

Q: (Reader)

DirecTV is running a commercial that appears to show the actual child actor and the actor Craig T. Nelson in a scene from “Poltergeist,” which has been manipulated to look like Mr. Nelson is talking about DirecTV. This strikes me as being in poor taste because the little girl died of an illness. More recent airings of the spot have a disclaimer at the bottom, but it goes too fast to see. Who granted DirecTV the rights to this footage? Who gets compensated for it?

A: (Stuart Elliott)

The commercial for DirecTV is part of a long-running campaign by Deutsch, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, that recreates scenes from famous films and enlists the stars of the films to break character and talk directly to viewers about DirecTV.

The commercial is “no different than the 20-plus before it,” Jon Gieselman, senior vice president for advertising and public relations at DirectTV, writes in an e-mail message.

“We secure all the footage rights through the studios and the talent featured in the spots before we even begin production,” Mr. Gielselman says, and in this case the family of the late child actor Heather O’Rourke “was involved in the spot from start to finish.”

“Heather’s mother not only approved” the commercial, he adds, “she also commented that Heather’s inclusion was a wonderful tribute to her daughter.”

“As the person who actually matters most, we should look to Heather’s mother for the ultimate opinion on this subject,” Mr. Gieselman says.

The disclaimer on screen during the commercial says, according to Mr. Gieselman: “Scene from ‘Poltergeist.’ Not intended to depict actual cable viewing experience.”

The disclaimer “has been there from the beginning and has not changed," he adds.