Filed under: Sony, Celebrities and Controversy, Remakes and Sequels
Lawsuits claiming such and such film stole so and so nobody's idea are a dime a dozen. But here's one that's more interesting than usual: unknown author Pamella Lawrence is suing Sony, Chris Rock, Frank Oz, Neil Labute, "White male" screenwriter Dean Craig and many others for stealing her ideas and turning them into Death at a Funeral. Both the UK original and the recent African-American-heavy remake. Specifically, they allegedly ripped off her 1995 book Caught on Video ... The Most Embarrassing Moment de Funeral, July 11, 1994, Jamaican Volume 1, as well as the actual embarrassing video the book is based upon, and also included inside jokes, such as one involving KFC's recipe, directly targeted at her. Additionally, Lawrence is calling the act racist and sexist, arguing that she pitched a film adaptation to Columbia TriStar (a division of Sony) in 1998 but was sent on her way because she's a woman from the inner city. And then they went ahead and ripped her off instead of working with her. She later sued the studio and the case was settled out of court (which she believes is referenced through the KFC joke). Now that two films have been released, she's back for more -- $20 million, to be exact. Not just for copyright infringement, but also for "breach of contract," "fraud" and "theft."
Continue reading Woman Claims 'Death at a Funeral' Ripped Off Her Real-Life Funeral Nonsense
