The Walt Disney Company is in hot water after Colorado screenwriters have sued the company, claiming copyright infringement on a screenplay called Pirates of the Caribbean.
A lawsuit is being filed against the Walt Disney Company's $4.5 billion franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean. Two Colorado screenwriters, A. Lee Alfred and Ezequiel Martinez, Jr. -- who both worked with Disney on a separate project -- are claiming that "copyrighted expression of themes, settings, dialogue, characters, plot, mood, sequence of events" from their 2000 screenplay titled Pirates of the Spanish Main. It was then retitled to Pirates of the Caribbean, because the Disneyland ride of the same name had "no story" behind it. The federal case was filed on Tuesday, November 14, on behalf of the two writers and producer Tova Laiter. They are seeking to hold the company responsible for the theft of intellectual property.
The duo claims that they submitted the script while working with Disney on Red Hood, a project that never met completion, between 1999 and 2000. They say they worked closely with Laiter and Disney's Brigham Taylor, Josh Harmon, and Michael Haynes, among others. Neither had a completed contract in place and made monthly trips to Disney without compensation. The two "were ecstatic" to be working with Disney, and they trusted the company.
But, in August 2000, as soon as the Pirates script was handed off to Taylor, along with a sizzle reel, the relationship began to get worse between the writers and Disney -- supposedly, a copy of their script and original artwork were found in Taylor's office, only to have the two rushed out of the room upon notice.
The opportunity to have a major film studio, such as Defendants, take a screenwriter's original spec screenplay and turn the work into a major motion picture is the ultimate dream," states the complaint filed on Tuesday against Disney. "A. Lee Alfred, II and Ezequiel Martinez, Jr. almost realized that dream, but then this dream quickly turned into a nightmare ..."After meeting in Taylor's office, the writers were paid for their work on Red Hood and sent on a plane to Colorado, according to the suit. "Alfred and Martinez were both on the phone (listening on silent) when Laiter was informed that Defendants were passing on the original spec screenplay and passing on the project." It's noted that during the conversation Disney never stated they had another screenplay in the works and were planning to move forward with a Pirates of the Caribbean project. Typically, studios return screenplays to writers if a project is rejected. That didn't happen with Disney. And on July 9, 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first film of the mega franchise, debuted. When they saw the movie, Alfred and Martinez claim that several themes were used from their original screenplay. [gallery columns="5" size="medium" ids="27417,27418,27419,27420,27421"] The Pirates franchise has blossomed into the tenth highest-grossing film series of all time, raking in $4.5 billion worldwide. This isn't the first time the House of Mouse has found itself in a legal bind, specifically with copyright law. The lawsuit claims that Disney has received similar complaints about several of its projects, including The Lion King, Monsters, Inc., Up, Frozen, Inside Out, and Zootopia. Read the full lawsuit document here (courtesy of Deadline). What are your thoughts on the lawsuit against Disney? Let us know in the comments below, and let's get the conversation started.
