Oldboy posters stolen, claims designer

A graphic designer is claiming that his poster designs were stolen for new Spike Lee film 'Oldboy', and are being used without permission or payment.

Deftly using the power of the internet to get himself heard, Juan Luis Garcia has written an open letter to the director asking for his help.

In an impassioned plea published on his own website, he writes: “I know you’ll understand my story of an artist trying to make a dignified living.

“It’s difficult and sometimes seems impossible because everyone wants you to work for free or for 'exposure'.”

[Four new posters revealed for Spike Lee's Oldboy]

The post soon hit sites like Reddit and has now been picked up all over the media, where it shows the similarities between his original designs, and the ones that were eventually used.

Luis Garcia says he was made an 'insultingly low offer' for his work by the advertising agency he claims 'harassed' him and threatened him with legal action after he refused permission to use the designs.

“I tried to negotiate but they refused. I make the same amount of money in a single day as a photo assistant as what they offered, and I had worked on these almost exclusively for two months,” he wrote.

“We never signed any contracts or work-for-hire agreements and I certainly never agreed to donating or selling any copyright of my work without a licensing fee.

[Spike Lee's Oldboy red-band trailer revealed]

“I never even got paid the peanuts they owed me [for the original design pitches].”

So far Lee has not responded, but Luis Garcia says that he's been 'inundated with support from the design community', many of who want him to name and shame the agency involved.

“Everyone is asking why I don't name the agency and the answer is simple. Spike knows exactly who I am referring to,” he said, later adding that he just wanted to reach Lee 'with the truth so that he can help me instead of taking legal action. I don't want to sue anyone, it's not in my nature, but if that's what it comes down to, so be it. I'm thrilled he liked the posters and hope they continue using them, but I need to be remunerated'.

But thus far, the film, a remake of Park Chan-wook's cult hit from 2003, starring Josh Brolin and Samuel L. Jackson, appears to have flopped.

The $30 million movie, which has not been well-received by the critics, is predicted to have made only $2.5 million in its first five days at the cinema in the US.