Featured on the soundtrack of the 2011 film The Artist is music from Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo—and Vertigo co-star Kim Novak is pissed. From the press release and trade ad Novak's produced to express her fury, courtesy of Deadline Hollywood:

“I want to report a rape,” said Kim Novak, the legendary star of “Vertigo,” “Picnic,” and many other revered classics. “My body of work has been violated by ‘The Artist.’ This film took the Love Theme music from “Vertigo” and used the emotions it engenders as its own. Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart can’t speak for themselves, but I can. It was our work that unconsciously or consciously evoked the memories and feelings to the audience that were used for the climax of ‘The Artist’....It is morally wrong of people in our industry to use and abuse famous pieces of work to gain attention and applause for other than what the original work was intended. It is essential that all artists safeguard our special bodies of work for posterity, with their individual identities intact and protected."

Even stupider: Novak's manager admits to Deadline Hollywood that The Artist "had the legal right to use the music."

Here's hoping Ms. Novak is never forced to learn firsthand exactly how ridiculous her claim of "rape" is. (But I wouldn't mind if someone hit her in the face with a pie.)