How Many 'Death Race' Points Do You Get for a Screenwriter?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Remakes and Sequels
The upcoming Death Race remake may look nothing like the original (nor have any awesome point collections like the original, which you can see above), but maybe that's because it isn't actually based on the classic cult movie?
The Hollywood Reporter posts that writer Adam Stone is determined to stop the release of Death Race, which is scheduled to hit screens this Friday. He's filed a copywright infringement lawsuit claiming that the film is based on a script he pitched to director Paul W. S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. He thinks that a copy of the script, Joust, was kept and worked into what seems to be a Death Race 2000 revamp -- one with at least 39 elements that are just like his refused screenplay.
Is this why the film is darker, less campy, and with a lot less reported civilian casualties? Currently, Universal has declined to comment and there's no word on what damages Stone is seeking from the lawsuit.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2008 @ 5:05PM
Mike said...
If Mr. Stone is so far removed from the loop, how does he know there are "at least 39 elements that are just like his refused screenplay" if the movie hasn't even opened yet?
I fancy myself a writer, but I don't know how someone could be so sure that their ideas were stolen before they are supposed to have been able to view the final product.
Unless those 39 elements include cars, car racing, car chases, car crashes, scantily clad women, gambling, violence and a finish line. Then, by looks of the trailer, this guy may have a case. Because they're such novel elements for a movie.
If your story can be reworked into a sequel or remake of another film, perhaps it wasn't such an original idea to begin with. Just saying.
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8-20-2008 @ 11:25PM
Adam said...
I've seen the film
8-20-2008 @ 10:47PM
Gary said...
I am sure that during this age of Hollywood's war on file-sharers then no production company would even think of ripping of a writers copyright on his own script.
I mean, come on, this story has to be a mistake! That would just make movie studio's a bunch of lying, greedy hypocrites wouldn't it? I can't see it myself.
What kind of message would they be sending to their customers? It's okay to rip of somebody's copyright if you have enough money to pay a settlement but not okay if you are a student with no money and get caught downloading movies.
I will be keeping an eye on this case with interest.
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8-22-2008 @ 2:33PM
sabrina said...
Please help me ban small children from R-rated movies. People's bad parenting shouldn't have to affect movie patrons, especially when we are spending so much to see movies these days. Please sign the petition at the link below.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/childrenandthemovies/index.html
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