Judge otherwise leaning towards dismissal of most of the plaintiff's claims
By Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --A federal judge has indicated she is leaning toward dismissing most of an Iraq war veteran’s lawsuit against the makers of “The Hurt Locker” but may allow him to pursue his key claim that the Oscar-winning film is based on his life.
The producers, director and screenwriter of the movie had been seeking an outright dismissal of Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver’s lawsuit, but U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen indicated in a tentative ruling that she may allow him to pursue a misappropriation of name and likeness claim. Her draft ruling indicated that she plans to dismiss Sarver’s claims of defamation, breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Sarver sued in March 2010, days before it went on to win six Academy Awards, including for best picture and honors for director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal.
Boal was embedded with Sarver’s unit in Iraq and spent a month profiling him for a story he wrote for Playboy magazine titled “The Man in the Bomb Suit.” The sergeant claims Boal had no right use his life as a template for “Hurt Locker.”
Boal, Bigelow and the film’s producers have denied Sarver is the basis for the film.
Sarver’s attorney, Todd J. Weglarz, said that if Nguyen’s tentative ruling stands, said the misappropriation claim “is the essence of this case.”
Attorneys for Boal, Bigelow and the film’s producers urged Nguyen to reconsider her initial ruling, arguing that “The Hurt Locker” bore some resemblance to Sarver’s experience, but that it contained numerous creative elements that made it deserving of First Amendment protection.
If Sarver were allowed to continue the case, which he first filed in New Jersey, it could have a chilling effect on other films based on real-world events, attorneys for the filmmakers argued.
“That’s going to directly impact artists, directors, filmmakers in the future,” said Jeremiah Reynolds, an attorney for Bigelow and Boal.
Summit Entertainment attorney David Halberstadter said most of the similarities between Sarver and the film’s protagonist played by Jeremy Renner were elements common to most soldiers, and the film included numerous scenes that Boal never witnessed Sarver performed.
Weglarz disagreed, saying traits of his client and similar details about his personal life are present in Renner’s character.
“How anyone can say the movie is not about Sgt. Sarver, I don’t know,” his attorney Todd J Weglarz said.
Nguyen did not state when she would issue a written ruling and did not indicate whether Monday’s arguments had changed her mind about the likeness issues. She also did not indicate whether she would require Sarver, who Weglarz said is now retired from the military, to pay the legal costs for the “Hurt Locker” defendants as they are requesting.
“Overnight Success” Has Been More Than A Decade In The Making For Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson
Meghann Fahy and Eve Hewson, two of the stars of Netflix's whodunit "The Perfect Couple," have news for you if you want to call them breakouts: They've been working in this business for more than a decade.
Fahy made her TV debut in 2009 in an episode of "Gossip Girl." Hewson's first big film role was in 2011's "This Must Be the Place." They do concede, however, that it's recent TV roles — "The White Lotus" for Fahy and "Bad Sisters" for Hewson — that have led to new frontiers of opportunity.
Susanne Bier, who directed "The Perfect Couple," says both Fahy and Hewson are "going to be big stars."
"They certainly have proper, profound star quality, Both of them in very different ways," Bier says. "Both are incredibly creative, incredibly smart, and also have a impressive insight as to who they are. You can be a great actor or actress and not necessarily really know who you are yourself. And they do."
Hewson, 33, whose dad is U2 front man Bono, may have grown up in a famous family but she's now in demand in her own right. She will next be seen in a second season of "Bad Sisters, " out in November. She's in Noah Baumbach's next film, alongside Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Riley Keough. She's also been cast in Steven Spielberg's next production and is set to star opposite Murray Bartlett in a racing series for Hulu.
Fahy, 34, is in production on a limited series with Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock called "Sirens," written by Molly Smith Metzler ("Maid") for Netflix. She also has two films in the can with Josh O'Connor ("The Crown," "Challengers") and Brandon Sklenar ("It Ends With Us").
The two actors spoke candidly about this phase of their careers. This interview has been condensed for clarity and... Read More