Disney Sued Over Pirates of the Caribbean

[MickeyMousePal]

I just went to the Warner Brothers Studio over at Burbank. The Warner Brother tourist worker said that the two sequels from Pirates from the Caribbean were on hold because someone is suing the Walt Disney Studio because he/she claimed that it was their script the Walt Disney used and was exactly the same. Does anyone know if this is true? Luke?

[Luke]

I think this was discussed somewhere around here earlier in the year. Anyway, the suit was filed in January and no the <i>Pirates</i> sequels are not on hold. They're very much in production. Seems like a publicity stunt to me, complete with the domain www.Disneylawsuit.com . If it is frivolous, I hope he gets what the Frenchman who "wrote" Nemo got.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

I heard about this a while ago one a theme park site. And what I don't get is if this guy is telling the truth and Disney really did "steal" his story then why did he wait until January 2005 to sue Disney instead of suing Disney on August 2003?

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

By the way it's not writer gets sued but writers get sued. Ted Elliot and Ted Rossio(they also wrote the scripts for Shrek 1 and Aladdin)both wrote the scrpit. Sorry if I'm being snippy but I'm a huge fan of Pirates!

[Kenai]

I heard about this a while ago one a theme park site. And what I don't get is if this guy is telling the truth and Disney really did "steal" his story then why did he wait until January 2005 to sue Disney instead of suing Disney on August 2003?

Exactly. Like the Nemo French story thingy, this is just another excuse to try and extort money out of the Walt Disney Company and make it look bad (when the studio now seems to be riding high again at the moment).

And like you T&P fan, I'm a fan too. I've been getting reallly into it now.

[karlsen]

This is just stupid.

Who has not had an idea about a pirate movie? It is not that POTC was so incredible original because it was not. It was how it was made and the acting that made it incredible and that is only Disney work.

[Sunset Girl]

There's always someone that tries to claim ownership. . .

I remember reading quite a while back that Jim Davis (the creator of Garfield) received a form letter from someone that claimed Jim stole the ideas of the characters from his head using phychic energy and demanded a cut of the profits.

[lord-of-sith]

There's always someone that tries to claim ownership. . .

I remember reading quite a while back that Jim Davis (the creator of Garfield) received a form letter from someone that claimed Jim stole the ideas of the characters from his head using phychic energy and demanded a cut of the profits.

Now that's funny!

[chaychay102royal]

[quote="karlsen"]This is just stupid.

quote]

[Kenai]

This is just stupid.

Who has not had an idea about a pirate movie? It is not that POTC was so incredible original because it was not. It was how it was made and the acting that made it incredible and that is only Disney work.

Exactly. *applauds comment*

[PatrickvD]

I once read an article about some woman claiming the idea for treasure Planet was hers.... LOL seriously, Treasure Island anyone? These kind of people just want money. Well then they haven't met 'Disney in court'. Sue them and you're going down

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

One time this family sued Disney for stealing their song for the Lion King("The Lion Sleeps Tonight") but yet they didn't sue the place that gave Disney permission and sued Disney because Disney had more money.

These people just need to get a life and stop blamming everyone for thinking of the idea first. I one time thought of a great plot for an animated movie about cars. Then I heard Pixar was already making it. I was disappionted that idea was taken but you don't see me suing Pixar.

[Teede]

What's the writer's e-mail address who writes Pirates sequels?

[musicradio77]

By Natalie Finn

How does one put the brakes on a $654 million juggernaut?

A screenwriter who says that he had pirates on the brain long before
Johnny Depp 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.

[Luke]

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.

That excerpt is all that needs to be said about this case. Curiously, Mathew is an idiot seeking money and attention, and he'll have to settle for only a bit of the latter since this sort of thing is topical, interest-grabbing, and ripe for late night joke-making.

[ZOOMBOOM0688]

Didn't someone sue Disney when the 1st movie came out?

[disneyboy20022]

Its always the Blockbuster hits that people say Hey I made that and they stole my idea.... No one ever takes credit for the Box office Failures such as the new Larry the Cable Movie or the movie Gigli....

[lord-of-sith]

That excerpt is all that needs to be said about this case. Curiously, Mathew is an idiot seeking money and attention, and he'll have to settle for only a bit of the latter since this sort of thing is topical, interest-grabbing, and ripe for late night joke-making.

I couldn't have said it better myself. It couldn't be more obvious that this guy is a phony. One would come to the conclusion that he would have brought up his case when he first heard of CotBP. Or even when CotBP earned 300 mil + at the box office. Mr. Mathew, I wish I could pity you.

[MadonnasManOne]

Apparently, this guy thinks everyone in the world is stupid. Yeah, I decided to stay quiet through the success of the first movie, but, now that Disney has made a substantial amount of money from this franchise, I'll try to grab a piece of the pie.

If I were the judge in this case, I would first fine the guy for wasting my time. Say, around $250,000. Second, I would throw the case out, and tell him to have a nice life.

That's just me.

[AwallaceUNC]

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.

Let me guess, he filed some drawings of a pirate ship and then later decided to call it the Black Pearl?

Sorry, buddy, but "supernatural pirates" are hardly anything new. Pirates and ghosts go all the way back to, oh, 1968 (the attraction and <i>Blackbeard's Ghost</i>)... actually, they pretty much go back as long as pirates themselves do. Nice try. I'm with MM1- fine him for wasting everyone's time and money.

-Aaron