Any insiders know details here?
http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/...aling-zootopia-idea-screenwriter-suit-n736711
http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/...aling-zootopia-idea-screenwriter-suit-n736711
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Zootopia lawsuit?
- Thread starter Nemo14
- Start date
SteamboatJoe
Well-Known Member
The movie came out a year ago and was publicized before that and he just now decided to take this to court? Guess he wanted to see how well it did first to see how much he should ask for. Plus, don't want to claim to be the actual writer of a movie that ended up bombing at the box office.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Well...yeah. You've got three years to file and it's not like he'd be asking for an injunction to stop the publication of anything.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Because it won Oscar for best animated picture I can only assume.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Another day, another Royce Mathew style case.... Wish he could just go to jail.
I'm not convinced Royce was wrong.
It wouldn't be the first time Disney blatantly stole story ideas.
Or the second.
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jensenrick
Well-Known Member
The "similarities" this guy is insisting on are completely ludicrous. This should be thrown out of court so fast!
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
Hannah Montana was also stolen, in the same manner this guys claims Zootopia was. But then again almost all of the Disney films are based on classic literature or history so none of the stories are actually original. Which is a shame.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
Funny. That doesn't seem to be the outlook Disney has when their lawyers sue people for alleged infringement.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
Oh no another film about animals being ripped off....Where have we heard this before...
That was my first thought about the lawsuit.
azox
Well-Known Member
And here I always assumed Zootopia was based on Williams' "Police Force."
SteamboatJoe
Well-Known Member
Hard to tell without more info. There are 2 sides to every story and complaints often leave out facts that hurt their case. If he has enough to substantiate at least some of his claims, I would think Disney would settle...but I didn't go to law school so that is just an uneducated guess.
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SteamboatJoe
Well-Known Member
To be fair, if it's true than he deserves something. I am no lawyer but I would think the timing of the lawsuit at least brings the plaintiff's motivation into question and would likely be used by the defense to weaken the claim's credibility.
Bairstow
Well-Known Member
I don't think the timing is suspect at all.
It takes a while to put something like this together, and we don't know whether McFarland had been working on a possible agreement between Disney and Goldman prior to filing. For all we know they may have been in talks prior to the movie's release.
SteamboatJoe
Well-Known Member
It may or may not be. As you alluded to, it would depend on facts not known at this time. Under the scenario you describe, I would agree it isn't suspect but if it came out of the blue, it's timing could be questioned. It may not be the primary defense Disney would employ or rely on but it could be a legitimate point to bring up for consideration. That's not to say it would necessarily be a good or successful defense.