Sylvester Stallone Sued for for Copyright Infringement over 'The Expendables' Script

Sylvester Stallone's recent film "The Expendables" was a huge hit at the box office when it was released in August 2010. During its box office run the film earned over $103 million domestically and $247 million worldwide. However, on Tuesday, a writer in New York filed a lawsuit claiming that Stallone and the movie's co-writer, David Callaham, stole the idea for "The Expendables" from a screenplay he wrote 2006.

Marcus Webb filed his lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, October 25, reports Reuters. The suit states that Webb wrote a screenplay called "The Cordoba Caper." The suit also claims "The Expendables" is similar and "some places identical" to his film.

Webb reportedly registered "The Cordoba Caper" with the U.S. Copyright office in June 2006 and is now suing for unspecified damages for copyright infringement. He is also suing to stop the upcoming sequel by Stallone, Callaham, Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and other production companies involved with the film, in order to prevent any more infringement on his copyright.

Stallone and other named in the lawsuit have not commented on the report.

"There can be no dispute that Stallone and/or Callaham had access to and copied protectable elements of the screenplay," the lawsuit said. The script was made available by Webb for the movie industry between 2006 and 2009, according to Reuters. Webb also claims he was deprived of potential earnings from the screenplay and film.

"'The Cordoba Caper' tells the story of a team of elite, highly-trained mercenaries hired to defeat General Garza, a rogue army general of a small Latin American country," the lawsuit stated.

"The Expendables is about a group of mercenaries who come for a mission to overthrow a dictator in Latin America. The film featured appearances by action stars like Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li and Jason Statham. The film's sequel "The Expendables 2" is set for release on August 17, 2012.

Stallone recently lent his voice to the Joe the Lion character in the live-action film "The Zookeeper" with Kevin James and has an upcoming movie called "Bullet to the Head" with Christian

Slater due out on April 13, 2012. The actor is also set to launch a fashion line inspired by "Rocky" and "Rambo" in 2012

UPDATE

Reuters reports that Webb shopped his screenplay around to several studios between 2006 and 2009, and that the screenplay was “widely available” to potential buyers in the movie industry.

Do you think Stallone saw Webb’s screenplay?

The lawsuit reads:


“There can be no dispute that Stallone and/or Callaham had access to and copied protectable elements of the screenplay.”

Webb cites several examples where the two scripts are similar in his lawsuit, including the opening scene which involves “a hostage rescue at sea, off a foreign coast, which has nothing to do with the main plot.” The main villain in both movies, according Reuters, is General Garza, “a military dictator with a notorious human rights record.”

“The Expendables,” which was produced by Millennium and Nu Image and distributed by Lions Gate, was released worldwide on August 13, 2010. The movie featured an all-star action cast, including Jet Li, Jason Statham, and Dolph Lundgren, as well as a cameo from Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Webb says that he is owed earnings from “The Expendables,” which made $274.5 million worldwide.

Do you think Stallone stole the plot for “The Expendables” from Marcus Webb?

Willow Smith's out to prove she's no one-hit wonder and Nicki Minaj for her latest single!

Willow Smith and Nicki Minaj Light a 'Fireball'

Willow Smith's out to prove she's no one-hit wonder and has enlisted the help of Nicki Minaj for her latest single!

The single, dubbed Fireball, is a drum-heavy party track that showcases the 10-year-old's lyrical talent alongside one of the hottest female rappers right now. Whether she writes her own stuff or not is to be debated (ghostwriter Minaj?), with lines like "Since I landed here, I gon’ phone up Obama... Shook the world up, now I caused a little drama," coupled with the fact that she is Will Smith's daughter, anything's possible. As always, Minaj does her thing with her lyrics in what could be considered a big sister-little sister type of pairing. Good to see the women support each other!

Fireball is featured on Willow's upcoming debut album, which will be released under Jay Z's Roc Nation imprint. Check out the hot track!

Brad Pitt thinks his marriage to Jennifer Aniston was fake!

Brad Pitt Delivers Jennifer Aniston A Final Blow

Brad Pitt thinks his marriage to Jennifer Aniston was fake, it was “something that it wasn’t”.

The ‘Money ball’ actor – who was married to former ‘Friends’ star Jennifer from 2000 to 2005 – thinks his life before his relationship with Angelina Jolie started to feel “pathetic” because he spent a lot of time smoking marijuana and “hiding”.

 

 

He said: “I spent the ’90s trying to hide out, trying to duck the full celebrity cacophony. I started to get sick of myself sitting on a couch, holding a joint, hiding out. It started feeling pathetic. It became very clear to me that I was intent on trying to find a movie about an interesting life, but I wasn’t living an interesting life myself. I think that my marriage [to Jennifer Aniston] had something to do with it. Trying to pretend the marriage was something that it wasn’t.”

[editors note: another confirmation that he smokes pot] 

Did Jennifer smoke pot with you, Brad?

There’s more! He’s living a much happier life with Angelina and their six children – Maddox, 10, Pax, seven, Zahara, six, Shiloh, five, and three-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

He said: “One of the greatest, smartest things I ever did was give my kids Angie as their mom. She is such a great mom. Oh man, I’m so happy to have her.”

Ouch… that’s gonna leave a mark.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher splitting up?

Is this woman causing trouble in Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s marriage? Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher Address Alleged Marriage Trouble on Twitter. Ashton Kutcher: 'Don't believe the hype' over Demi Moore split rumors.Woman Who Allegedly Slept With Ashton Kutcher Shopping Story As Star Holes Up In Home With Demi Moore.

Rumors about the demise of the six-year marriage between Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were swirling Wednesday on the Internet, courtesy of a tabloid magazine that alleges they are divorcing and a recent, cryptic tweet by Moore that quotes a Greek philosopher.

This particular celebrity-split rumor, which has not been commented on by the stars’ respective reps, stems from a cover story in Star magazine that says the couple have been living apart for months because Kutcher is supposedly a serial cheater. Oh, and also — here comes the cherry on the seedy tabloid sundae — that the “Two and a Half Men” star allegedly had a secret fling with Britney Spears.

Outlets like People magazine are adding to the rumors by noting that the two are currently on different coasts, are tweeting with less frequency and did not celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary together last weekend.

And then there’s that tweet from Moore (Twitter handle: mrskutcher), which was sent Friday and may have, according to People, some deeper meaning: “When we are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself & study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. -Epictetus.”

No one has noted that the “G.I. Jane” star also tweeted a quote from basketball coaching legend John Wooden just a few days earlier. That tweet said: “Never mistake activity for achievement.” And I think we all know what that means — probably that Moore liked the quote and decided to share it.

This is not the first time the state of the couple’s marriage has been the subject of speculation. During a trip to Israel last October, there were reports that Moore, 48, and Kutcher, 33,were trying to work on their relationship because of infidelity issues. Again, the reports were never confirmed.

This entire episode is reminiscent of the recent rumors that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith were splitting up, which by all appearances seem to be false. We’ll have to wait and see whether Kutcher and Moore borrow from the Pinkett-Smith playbook and issue a statement letting us all know that their marriage remains intact.

By: Jen Chaney