14 Innocent (or Insane) Things That Got a Movie Sued
Did Paul Giamatti portray a man to death? Legally, no. But spiritually? Also no.
Did Paul Giamatti Kill N.W.A.’s Manager?
Short answer: no. Long answer: N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller was scandalized by Giamatti’s portrayal of him in Straight Outta Compton, so he sued Universal, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. He then went ahead and died of a heart attack, which his lawyers argued was due to the stress the movie caused him. A judge disagreed with that assessment.
Black & Decker Didn’t Get the Product Placement They Didn’t Pay For
John McClane was supposed to briefly use a Black & Decker cordless drill in Die Hard 2, an ad placement they’d agreed to buy for $20,000. That scene was cut from the final film and, despite never actually ponying up the $20k, they successfully sued Fox for $150,000 for breaching the contract.
There’s No Bad Blood Between Scarlett Johansson and Disney, Just Ask Their Lawyers
Black Widow came out right in the middle of the pandemic, when people were still loath to gather indoors. Disney chose to put it out on Disney+ which Johansson, understandably, objected to, since she was contractually entitled to a cut of in-theater ticket sales. They settled out of court, and she made a statement that she was officially not mad at them anymore.
Two Guys Sued Universal for $5 Million Over a Dearth of Ana de Armas
The trailer for Yesterday featured a brief appearance by de Armas, but her part was cut from the final film. Two guys who paid $3.99 to watch it on Amazon Prime tried (and failed) to recoup their money, times 625,000.
‘American Hustle’ Got Away With Putting Words in a Reporter’s Mouth
Investigative journalist Paul Brodeur was surprised to hear Jennifer Lawrence’s character read a Paul Brodeur quote, specifically one claiming that microwaves sap nutrition out of food. He sued the movie on the grounds that he never said that, but a court ruled that Lawrence’s character was too “ditzy” for audiences to take seriously.
A Director Made Teens Perform Naked, and That’s Completely Legal
The underage leads of 1968’s Romeo and Juliet were told they’d be wearing skin-colored tights during their love scene, but director Franco Zeffirelli convinced them to go full-nude, promising nothing would show up on camera. That was very much not the case. The two sued Paramount decades later, after their frontal lobes had grown in, but the case was dismissed.
A Mapmaker Waited Until a Movie Stopped Sucking to Sue It
Lay the Favourite bombed in 2012, making less than $2 million at the box office. But after it was picked up by Netflix and Amazon, artist Victor Baker pounced: the film had used an antique watercolor of the island of Curacao without his permission, and he hit them up for $150,000.
Before A.I., Producers Had to Use Prosthetics to Make Actors Appear Against Their Will
Crispin Glover was holding out for more money before agreeing to appear in Back to the Future Part II, so producers just put a ton of prosthetics onto another actor to turn him into George McFly. Glover won a $760,000 lawsuit, and the Screen Actors Guild made a rule that you can’t just make an actor act like another actor.
If You Guys Were the Inventors of ‘Avatar,’ You’d Have Invented ‘Avatar’
There were lots of claims, with varying degrees of credibility, that James Cameron ripped off intellectual property for his magnum opus. A small army of writers — and one painter — claimed that their IP had been farmed for up to 80 percent of the story. Judges had to wade into the nuances of fictional ancient arch design, but Cameron won every suit.
‘Happy Death Day’ Ripped Off the World’s Scariest Mascot
The New Orleans Pelicans secondary mascot is, naturally, a horrifying half-naked baby king. The makers of Happy Death Day needed a signature mask for their slasher, and it looks a lot like they used that exact baby face design, plus or minus a tooth or two. The designer of the original mascot sued for half the film’s profits, but settled out of court for an unknown amount.
An Obscure Author Believed He Came Up With ‘Cabin in the Woods’
Author Peter Gallagher wrote The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines, a self-published horror novel that Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard almost definitely didn’t read. Gallagher sued for $10 million, but a judge ruled that he didn’t invent the “teens get killed in spooky cabin” genre.
Exactly One Person Won a Lawsuit Against ‘Borat’
Seven lawsuits were filed against the film, including one for $38 million on behalf of Romanian villagers who were unwitting extras. But only Macedonian Romani singer Esma Redžepova won her suit, because the film used her music without permission.
The Princess Who Necessitated ‘Fictitious Persons Disclaimers’
1932’s Rasputin and the Empress made a less-than-subtle homage to the real-life Princess Irina Yusupov, whose husband helped out with Rasputin’s assassination. The princess sued, quite successfully, and filmmakers were forced to post the bulletproof “this isn’t about who you think it’s about” disclaimer before the movie starts forevermore.
Batman Sues Batman
The mayor of Batman, Turkiye attempted to sue The Dark Knight for a bizarre array of perceived infractions, accusing them of copyright infringement and a series of unsolved murders in the city.
