Tensions surrounding the upcoming remake of Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal have flared up again after the original film’s screenwriter filed legal action against Amazon Studios.
On Tuesday, R. Lance Hill, who wrote the screenplay for the 1989 cult film, sued Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its parent company Amazon Studios for copyright infringement and sought declaratory relief.
Hill, who goes by the pseudonym David Lee Henry, said the Seattle e-commerce giant has won back the rights to “Roadhouse,” the 1986 screenplay that spawned the original film and this year’s film, under U.S. copyright law. He claims that he ignored his abilities. In the reboot, Gyllenhaal plays a former UFC fighter struggling to move on from his brawling days.
In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Central District Court in Los Angeles, Hill says he will file the necessary complaint with the U.S. Copyright Office in late 2021 to protect his copyright when United Artists’ claim expires in November of this year. He claims that he asked for it to be returned to him. . United Artists has released an original film featuring Patrick Swayze.
But Amazon, which owns the rights to “Road House” through its acquisition of MGM’s movie library, ignored his copyright claims and launched a SAG-AFTRA strike to complete the film before copyright expires. It is said that they even took steps to avoid it. According to the complaint.
Hill’s complaint alleges that during last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, Amazon “took extreme measures to meet the November 10, 2023 deadline, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI), at significant additional cost.” I gave a lecture.” He claims Amazon used AI to “replicate the voices” of the actors in the 2024 remake.
The film was completed in January, about two months after the copyright expiry, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also alleges that the use of AI to simulate actors’ voices is subject to the terms of collective bargaining agreements between major studios, including Amazon, and the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. They also claimed that the studio was in violation of the terms of the studio partnership agreement with Ierenren. Directors Guild of America.
Representatives for Amazon Studios did not immediately comment on Hill’s lawsuit or the allegations.
The lawsuit seeks to block distribution of the film, which is scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video on March 21st.
This reboot was already controversial. Director Doug Liman has announced that he will boycott the film’s premiere, scheduled to open next month at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. In an essay published last month on the industry website Deadline, Lehman argued that Amazon was distributing the film on its Prime Video streaming platform rather than releasing it widely in theaters. He expressed his regret.
When Amazon Studios announced the film in mid-2022, it said it had been greenlit as a streaming title.
In the remake, Gyllenhaal’s character Dalton meets the Roadhouse bar owner, played by Jessica Williams (The Daily Show, The Shrinking), who takes her character to a hangout in the Florida Keys. They need bodyguards to protect them from the coming thugs. Written by real-life mixed martial artist Conor McGregor.
In the original, Swayze played Dalton, also a muscle-bound bouncer who kept order (mainly) at a Double Deuce bar in Missouri.
Supporters of the Writers Guild of America picket near Culver Studios, home of Amazon Studios, in May.
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)
The behind-the-scenes battles over “Roadhouse” reveal Hollywood consolidation and its effects. United Artists was founded more than a century before his death by a cadre of film industry luminaries including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. MGM bought this prestigious label in 1981.
In 2006, MGM brought Tom Cruise and producer partner Paula Wagner into a joint venture to revitalize the film label. But the rebooted UA only released two films, Lions for Lambs and Valkyrie, before Mr. Wagner stepped down as chief executive. MGM bought back full control of the historic label in 2012, and its assets were included as part of Amazon’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. The deal was completed two years ago after a lengthy regulatory review.
According to Hill’s complaint, on November 10, 2021, Hill notified United Artists and its successor companies, warning them of his plans to restore copyright to the screenplay, and stating that he intended to do so under copyright law. The company said it had provided a “statutory termination notice.” .
But the suit says Amazon won’t allow Hill to terminate the studio’s ability to use the source material.
“Instead, Defendants proceeded to rapidly produce a remake of the 1989 film ‘Road House,’ based on the script,” the complaint states. “Despite the 2024 remake clearly exploiting the screenplay, Defendants made no attempt to secure new film licenses and ancillary rights.”
The dispute between Hill and Amazon primarily revolves around whether Hill wrote the original screenplay “on spec,” whether he intended to sell it to a movie studio once it was completed, or whether he was under contract to United Artists at the time. is focused on. .
UA entered into a “Literary Purchase Agreement” with Hill, doing business as his private company, Lady Amos Literary Works Ltd. According to the complaint, Lady Amos and Hill transferred all rights to the script.
“Hill had no employment or contractual relationship with United Artists at the time he wrote the screenplay,” the suit states. “Rather, United Artists won the grant from Hill in 1986, long after the script was completed.”
Jake Gyllenhaal (left) and Jay Gyllenhaal (left) confront each other while filming a scene for the remake of the 1989 movie “Roadhouse” at the mixed martial arts event “UFC 285” in Las Vegas on March 4, 2023. Hyron.
(David Becker/Associated Press)
The original film was directed by Rowdy Herrington, and the 2024 remake was produced by Joel Silver, who is credited as a producer.
Variety reported that Silver quit last fall amid tensions with the studio.
Mark Tobeloff, a Malibu lawyer who is handling Mr. Hill’s case, specializes in intellectual property law.
He has a long track record, including winning summary judgments in similar copyright cases on behalf of the children of “Friday the 13th” author Victor Miller and music legend Ray Charles. He represented the family of Jerry Siegel, co-creator of “Superman,” and helped the family regain half the rights to the iconic hero’s copyright.
Toberoff represents the heirs of Marvel character creators, including the family of Jack Kirby (Thor, X-Men, Black Panther), Marvel Studios and then Walt Disney. He has handled high-profile lawsuits against companies. ). The case was settled before the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case. The lawyer also represented Steve Ditko (“Spider-Man”), Larry Lieber (“Thor,” “Iron Man”) and Don Rico (“Black “Widow”), Gene Colan (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Don Heck (“Iron Man” and “Black Widow”).
U.S. copyright law provides a provision for authors to regain rights to works transferred after 1977.
In such a case, the author would have “a grace period of five years, beginning 35 years after the date of assignment,” to terminate the copyright held by the studio, according to Hill’s complaint.
According to the law, “a notice of termination may be served by the author at any time between 10 and 2 years prior to the effective termination date.”
