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#1
07-12-2006, 01:10 AM
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People will do anything for money...A pirate argument
 How does one put the brakes on a $654 million juggernaut? A screenwriter who says that he had pirates on the brain long before inserted his first gold tooth is going to try. Royce Mathew has sued the Walt Disney Co., Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Touchstone Home Video and 24 other related enterprises that had a stake in the 2003 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl for copyright infringement. In his complaint, available online at TMZ.com, the Florida resident claims that over the last two decades he "created and wrote a number of original works including drawings, screenplays, outlines, blueprints, storyboards, and other original materials which included multimedia works, which he generally entitled SNPM, standing for Supernatural Pirate Movie." Just a working title, we presume. He also stated that he eventually filed his drawings, which included sketches of a pirate ship that he named the Black Pearl, as well as a blueprint and screenplay draft for his ghostly pirate caper, with the U.S. Copyright Office. Mathew also says that he created characters called Will Turner and Elizabeth, along with an eccentric pirate captain and a cursed crew. There was no immediate comment from either Disney or Bruckheimer on the complaint. Mathew is seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction prohibiting the 28 defendants from publicly displaying the movie (i.e. through DVD rentals, online downloading, soundtrack and merchandise sales, network broadcasts, etc.). Curiously, Mathew's suit was filed last Friday, just before the first of two planned sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, blasted the box office wide open, taking in a record $135.6 million and pretty much guaranteeing that this franchise is going to end up in billion-dollar territory. Per the complaint, Mathew supposedly showed his early sketches and other materials to "a variety of employees and agents" of the named defendants, both privately and through the William Morris Agency and Creative Artists Agency, with the hope that his project would get the go-ahead. Alas, matey, he was told that his idea wouldn't make a "financially rewarding project." But despite the fact that Disney has been linked with a certain swashbuckling theme park ride called Pirates of the Caribbean since 1968, Mathew felt that The Curse of the Black Pearl pilfered plot lines, event sequencing, characters, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, concept and its overall tone from his Supernatural Pirate Movie. Arrgh. Although the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court's Central District of California does not mention Dead Man's Chest or the upcoming At World's End, slated for a May 2007 release, it asks the judge to issue an injunction against The Curse of the Black Pearl and "other infringing works." Could that include the newly refurbished Pirates ride at Disneyland and Disney World, which since June 26 has featured animatronic Captain Jack Sparrow figures and a story line that's more in sync with the hit films? While fellow codefendants Disneyland International and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts could theoretically be in for a fight, they've got on their side almost 30 years of history and one of the most powerful multimedia companies in the world. We're going to place a bet on the strength of Disney and, well, let it ride. source: Yahoo! News |
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#2
07-12-2006, 01:15 AM
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I have a feeling that that Mathew guy is just trying to make money! Making fake sketches of the charecters and using some lines fom the movie! Thats just mean right there! I mean anyone could come up with the name Supernatural Pirate Movie in meer seconds! What a lie!
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#5
07-12-2006, 02:22 PM
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This is just like the harry potter books. They were a big success. Then a lady claimed that J.K.Rowling stole her idea. This is the same thing with pirates. Guess what dude you should of made the movie first or patened the idea :-).
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#6
07-15-2006, 07:15 AM
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#8
07-13-2006, 05:01 PM
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You're all missing something: when did he copywrite this stuff, before or after the first movie started production?
I see arguments here (and in the original article) that implies the film is based on the ride. Well, it really isn't. Despite the title, Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl has absolutely nothing to with the Disney attraction. There are little references to the ride tossed into the film (like the dog with the keys) but those are what we call "throw-away lines." Consider this: there is no Black Pearl in the ride. There was no Will, Elizabeth, Jack, or Barbarossa in the original ride. There was no "undead" curse on the original attraction. The ride was based on a real-life incident that occurred in Florida in the 1700s when a group of pirates, mistakenly believing the Spanish had hidden gold in one of their forts, banded together and invaded that fort. No gold was found, but the incident is still celebrated every year in the city where it took place: St. Petersburg, Florida. Nothing to do with the movie. Everything in the movie was created from something else. So, the real question is: when did Royce Mathew copywrite his material? If it's proved he did so before the first draft of the script including those elements was dated, he's right and he wins. And trust me, it would not be the first time this has happened, and not the only time under the Eisner administation. Side note: As for the Rowlings thing, the writer suing lost because it was shown she changed portions of the evidence before going to trial. It turns out the only thing she had done was create a group of characters called "Muggles," but the muggles in her story were the magical ones. Can't sue over a character name only: case dismissed. |
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#9
07-13-2006, 05:44 PM
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<Shakes head> You know, I find it sad that artists of all types have to copyright their material for fear of it being stolen. I wonder how many great ideas are just sitting in boxes, journals, or other places because it is feared the idea will be stolen if presented to someone with the finances to make it reality.
Yes, there are false claims made all the time when something makes big money but people steal other people's material all the time, as well. 
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#10
07-13-2006, 08:20 PM
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I thought it was based on something else.. in the carribbean... not Tampa bay.. (no more on this subject of Gasparilla..) Some dug up his copyrights.. they were filed after the movie was in production... I believe
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#11
07-13-2006, 06:21 PM
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I really hope Disney can make a good case on their side of the suit and that Mathew will be found as a liar. Think about it, if Disney loses, their might not be a third movie, and how would we find out about wat happened!
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#13
07-13-2006, 07:48 PM
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Either way, it's conceiveable he was trying other ways to get this resolved over the past three years. You have to understand legal matters are not always settled immediately. Art Buchwald's suit against Paramount for stealing one of his stories went on for something like ten years. So, even though you've just heard about it does not mean it hasn't been brewing for 3, 4, or 5 years already. Quote:
As for the last film, most of it's already been made, and they won't just throw it away. If they have to pay this man more, they just will and release the next one anyway. It won't affect you the slightest. |
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#14
07-13-2006, 07:55 PM
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↓No Clickey!↓  Sig made by Sushi--Adventurebry/AlphaPanchito RIP 2005-2008
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#15
07-13-2006, 07:56 PM
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People will do anything for money...A pirate argument
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