Actor Gary Oldman was sued over his participation in the movie "Dark Times".
The plaintiff, screenwriter Ben Kaplan, claims that the Oscar-winning film illegally used developments from his unrealized project.
Oldman, agent Jim Osborne, producer Douglas Urbansky, and NBCUniversal, Working Title Films and Focus Features involved in the production of Dark Times are named as defendants.
The lawsuit, which went to the Los Angeles Supreme Court, says that Gary Oldman, his agent Jim Osborne, producers Douglas Urbansky and Lucas Webb in 2013-2014 allegedly got acquainted with three versions of the script written by Kaplan.
According to the text of the document, the latter planned to use the script as the basis for a full-length film.
It is alleged that Oldman agreed to star in the project for a fee of $ 6 million, but then changed his mind and played the role of Churchill in "Dark Times", filmed under the auspices of Working Title Films and Universal.
"The defendants had access to three Churchill scripts written by Ben Kaplan ... There is every reason to believe that one or more of the scripts were in whole or in part circulated to the defendants, including Universal Studios and Focus Features," the statement of claim reads.
© Still from the movie "Dark Times" (2017)
The document provides a list of elements that are considered to be borrowed.
According to Deadline, some of them can really be attributed to the original developments, but some of the other listed facts and speculations are well known.
The statement states that both scripts contain a scene in which Churchill tries to lure the cat out from under the bed.
Another claim stems from the use of a fictional story that it was Winston Churchill who had the idea to use the civilian fleet to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk during World War II.
“Ascribing to Churchill the idea of a civilian armada and the order to collect it is Kaplan's unhistorical, artistic invention, written in Churchill and copied in Dark Times.
Until Kaplan portrayed Churchill as the initiator, it was not his fleet, but the British civilian fleet, ”the case documents say.
In addition, according to the statement of claim, both scenarios end with Churchill's historic speech "We will fight on the beaches."
Also, the creators of Dark Times used the same Kennedy quote about Churchill that begins the 2014 version of Kaplan's script.
Thus, the defendants are accused of “misidentification of origin”, breach of contract, unfair business practices and obstruction of contract performance.
The plaintiffs intend to obtain a ban on the film and are demanding a number of damages, including all proceeds from the film.
The film grossed $ 150 million worldwide.
© Still from the movie "Dark Times" (2017)
Ben Kaplan is involved in teaching.
He is also known as the author of a number of TV series on the History Channel.
The lawsuit clarifies that Kaplan began work on the script in 1999, and in 2002 registered the rights to it with the Writers Guild of America.
In 2011, Kaplan found a producer for the project - Cameron Lamb.
it was assumed that StudioCanal and Sierra / Affinity would handle the production of the tape.
Kaplan's agents also contacted Working Title co-director Lucas Webb, who suggested cooperation with his studio and emphasized interest in the topic of the future film.
According to the plaintiff, by March 2015, Gary Oldman had already started working on the role.
The parties were preparing to sign the contract, but the actor left the project without giving any reason.
The premiere of the film "Dark Hours" took place in 2017.
The film was nominated for an Oscar in six categories, including Best Picture.
Gary Oldman received a statuette for Best Actor, as well as make-up and hairdressers.
For this work, Oldman received other important awards, including the BAFTA and Golden Globes.