Tensions over the upcoming “Road House” movie remake, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, are erupting again with the original film's screenwriter taking a legal hit to Amazon Studios.
On Tuesday, R. Lance Hill, who wrote the script for the 1989 cult film, sued Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its parent, Amazon Studios, for copyright infringement, seeking declaratory relief.
Hill, who uses the pseudonym David Lee Henry, alleges that the Seattle e-commerce giant ignored his ability under U.S. Copyright Law to claim rights to his 1986 screenplay, “Roadhouse.” , which spawned the original film and this year's film. reboot, in which Gyllenhaal plays a former UFC fighter struggling to leave his fighting days behind.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. Central District Court in Los Angeles, Hill alleges that he filed the necessary petition with the U.S. Copyright Office in late 2021, requesting that the copyright be granted to him. returned when United Artists' claim was set to expire last November. . United Artists released the original film, which featured Patrick Swayze.
But Amazon, which owns the rights to “Road House” through its acquisition of MGM's film library, allegedly ignored its copyright claims and forged ahead, even taking steps to prevent the SAG-AFTRA strike, to try to end the film before the copyright expired. , according to the demand.
Amazon “went even to extreme measures to try to meet the November 10, 2023 deadline, at considerable additional cost, including resorting to the use of AI (artificial intelligence)” during last year's SAG-AFTRA strike, Hill's lawsuit states. . He claims Amazon used AI to “replicate the voices” of actors in the 2024 remake.
The film was completed in January, approximately two months after the copyright deadline, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit also alleges that the use of AI to simulate actors' voices violates provisions of collective bargaining agreements between major studios, including Amazon, and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, as well as the studio alliance contract with the Directors Guild of America.
Representatives for Amazon Studios did not immediately comment on Hill's lawsuit or her claims.
The lawsuit seeks to block distribution of the film, which will be available March 21 on Amazon Prime Video.
The reboot had already generated controversy. Director Doug Liman has said he will boycott the premiere of the film, which is scheduled to open next month's South by Southwest Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas. In an essay published last month by the industry site Deadline, Liman expressed dismay that Amazon was sending the film to its Prime Video streaming platform instead of releasing it widely in theaters.
When Amazon Studios announced the film in mid-2022, it said it was greenlit as a streaming title.
In the new version, Gyllenhaal's character, named Dalton, meets a roadside bar owner, played by Jessica Williams (“The Daily Show” and “Shrinking”), who needs a bouncer to protect her haven in the Keys. from Florida of the thugs who bring a played character. by real-life mixed martial arts fighter, Conor McGregor.
In the original, Swayze played the muscular bouncer, also named Dalton, who (mostly) kept order at the Double Deuce bar in Missouri.
A supporter of the Writers Guild of America pickets near Culver Studios, home of Amazon Studios, in May.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
The behind-the-scenes struggles over “Road House” provide a clear view of Hollywood consolidation and its ramifications. United Artists was formed more than a century ago by a group of film luminaries, including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. MGM purchased the historic label in 1981.
In 2006, MGM hired Tom Cruise and his producing partner Paula Wagner in a joint venture to revitalize the film label. But the revamped UA released only two films, “Lions for Lambs” and “Valkyrie,” before Wagner stepped down as CEO. MGM bought back full control of the landmark label in 2012 and the assets were included as part of Amazon's $8.5 billion purchase of MGM, a deal that was completed two years ago after a lengthy regulatory review.
Hill's lawsuit said that on November 10, 2021, Hill notified United Artists and its successor companies, alerting them of his plans to recover copyrights to the script, providing a so-called “legal notice of termination,” according to the Copyright Act. Copyright. .
But, according to the lawsuit, Amazon would not recognize that Hill had terminated the studio's ability to exploit the source material.
“Instead, defendants moved forward with production of a remake of the 1989 film 'Road House'… derived from the screenplay,” the lawsuit says. “Despite the 2024 remake's obvious exploitation of the script, the defendants did not bother to obtain a new license for the film and ancillary rights.”
The dispute between Hill and Amazon centers, in large part, on whether Hill wrote the original script “on spec,” with plans to pitch it to movie studios once he finished it, or whether he had a contract with United Artists at the time. moment. .
UA entered into a “literary purchasing agreement” with Hill, who operates as Lady Amos Literary Works Ltd., her personal company. The copyright assignment of all rights to the script was arranged with Lady Amos and Hill, according to the lawsuit.
“Hill had no employment or contractual relationship with United Artists when he wrote the script,” the lawsuit says. “Rather, United Artists obtained Hill's grant in 1986 long after the script was completed.”
Jake Gyllenhaal, left, and Jay Hieron face off while filming a scene for an upcoming remake of the 1989 film “Road House” during a UFC 285 mixed martial arts event on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas.
(David Becker/Associated Press)
The original film was directed by Rowdy Herrington and produced by Joel Silver, who has a producer credit on the 2024 remake.
Variety reported that Silver was sidelined last fall amid tensions with the studio.
Malibu attorney Marc Toberoff, who is handling Hill's case, specializes in intellectual property law.
He has a long record, including winning summary judgment in similar Copyright Law cases on behalf of “Friday the 13th” creator Victor Miller and the children of music legend Ray Charles. He represented the family of “Superman” co-creator Jerry Siegel, helping the family recover a half interest in the iconic hero's copyrights.
Toberoff has handled high-profile cases against Marvel Studios and, later, Walt Disney Co., on behalf of the estates of Marvel character creators, including the family of Jack Kirby (“Thor,” “X-Men” and “Black Panther”). “). That case was settled before the U.S. Supreme Court took it up. The attorney also represented Steve Ditko (“Spider-Man”), Larry Lieber (“Thor,” “Iron Man”), Don Rico (“Black Widow”), Gene Colan (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Don Heck. (“Iron Man” and “Black Widow”).
US copyright law makes provision for authors to regain rights to their material that was transferred after 1977.
In such cases, the author has “a five-year period beginning 35 years after the date the rights were transferred” to terminate the copyrights held by the studio, according to Hill's lawsuit.
“The author may notify the termination at any time between 10 and two years before the effective date of termination,” according to the law.
