Steven Spielberg shoots down Carl's Jr.'s "SpielBurgers"
Steven Spielberg thinks that the sliders from Carl's Jr. are "pretty good," but he's not happy the fast food chain tried to use his name to drum up some publicity for their "SpielBurgers." The famed director posted a video to Amblin Entertainment's Twitter account saying that he will not allow it.
On Sunday, Carl's Jr. announced that it was changing the name of its charbroiled sliders to "SpielBurgers" in honor of upcoming movie "Ready Player One," which hits theaters Thursday, and even admitted, "Spielberg hasn't signed off yet, but we assume he's cool with it."
But the director is not cool with it at all.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM READY PLAYER ONE DIRECTOR STEVEN SPIELBERG REGARDING @CarlsJr “SPIELBURGERS” pic.twitter.com/BF8KF4VGc7
— Amblin Entertainment (@AmblinEnt) March 27, 2018
"It has recently come to my attention that Carl's Jr. wants to rename their charbroiled sliders 'SpielBurgers' and they're pretty good, but I'm passing," Spielberg said in a selfie video video. "Cease and desist. You can't do it — sorry, guys."
Carl's Jr. was flattered that Spielberg said the burgers were "pretty good," and tweeted, "OMG Spielberg likes our Charbroiled Sliders."
OMG Spielberg likes our Charbroiled Sliders! (He's not down with #SpielBurgers but we're fine with that) #Sliders #ReadyPlayerOne https://t.co/PYtiY7rT8U
— Carl's Jr. (@CarlsJr) March 27, 2018
Not ready to quit, Carl's Jr. tried to deliver its "SpielBurgers" to Amblin Entertainment, but was booted off the property.
SpielBurgers are not actually a menu item at Carl's Jr. A representative told The Hollywood Reporter, "This was a social stunt from the brand to try and get the attention of Spielberg and his team to celebrate the launch of 'Ready Player One.'"
It looks like they were successful.