- Mr. Hill, 81, said in a lawsuit in California federal court that Amazon never received a license to remake the screenplay after Mr. Hill regained copyright to it.
- The remake, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, 43, is set to premiere at the South by Southwest Festival on March 8th and move to Prime Video on March 21st.
- Hill asked for unspecified monetary damages and a court order to prevent Amazon from distributing the film without a new license.
Hollywood writer Lance Hill on Tuesday sued Amazon.com for an injunction against the remake of his 1989 film “Road House,” claiming it violates his rights in the original screenplay. filed a lawsuit.
Hill, 81, said in a lawsuit in California federal court that Amazon never received a license to remake the screenplay after Hill regained copyright to it.
He sought unspecified monetary damages and a court order preventing Amazon from distributing the film without a new license.
The remake, starring Jake Gyllenhaal (43), will premiere on March 8th as an opening night film at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and will be released on Amazon Prime on March 21st.・We plan to move to a video streaming platform.
An Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson called the lawsuit “completely without merit.”
Hill’s lawyer, Mark Toberoff, said major studios should “respect the fundamental rights and artistry of creators that are the foundation of their empires.”
Hill wrote the screenplay for “Road House” in 1986 and sold the rights to the film’s producer, United Artists, later that year, according to the suit.
U.S. copyright law allows artists to cease the transfer and regain rights after decades in some circumstances. Hill said in court that he notified Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which owns United Artists, that he would regain rights to the script in 2021.
MGM reportedly replied that Hill could not recover the copyright.
Amazon acquired MGM in March 2022. Hill said he got the copyright back last November and that Amazon set a deadline for the film to be completed the day before the termination took effect.
Hill said Amazon took “extreme steps” to meet the deadline, including using artificial intelligence to recreate the actors’ voices during the Screen Actors Guild strike, but the film won’t be completed until January. He said it had become.
An Amazon spokesperson denied that the remake uses AI to replace actors’ voices.
Hill frequently used the pseudonym David Lee Henry in Hollywood and is best known for his role in the cult film Road House.
Henley is credited with creating the original Road House story and co-wrote the screenplay with Hilary Henkin, 71.
Roadhouse stars the late Patrick Swayze as James Dalton, a bouncer at a bar in Missouri, while the 2024 remake stars Gyllenhaal as a UFC middleweight fighter who becomes a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. ing.
Hill’s other credits include: Harry Tracy, Desperado [1982]evil things that men do [1984]8 million ways to die [1986] and for justice [1991].
Swayze passed away in September 2009 at the age of 57 from pancreatic cancer.
The Road House remake has previously been produced by Swingers, Go, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Edge of Tomorrow, and American. Doug Liman (age 58), who directed “Maid”, was the director.
