Harvey Weinstein and brother Bob’s The Weinstein Company is at the center of a new lawsuit. Well the brothers have certainly never been a stranger to controversy.
Variety reports that the lawsuit centers on the two new movies “Gold” and “The Founder.” The plaintiffs assert that since the two films have similar themes then they should not have been released just one week apart.
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https://twitter.com/WeinsteinFilms/status/828322865221083136
FilmNation, which co-financed “The Founder,” filed the suit in New York claiming that the Weinstein Company violated a no compete clause which required that it not release a similar movie in the weeks before or after “The Founder” was released. FilmNation claims that these two movies are alike because they are both about a businessman with a vision who has to manipulate others to get what he wants.
The plaintiffs are suing for $15 million in damages.
This sounds pretty thin. For the lawsuit to succeed the plaintiffs will need to convince a judge that they really do have a case against The Weinstein Company. Then they will need to convince a jury that the two movies are really alike. Just watch their trailers and decide for yourselves:
According to the lawsuit filed against the Weinstein Company, “The Founder and Gold both appeal to the same audience. At all relevant times, the two films have been marketed to potential moviegoers in the same way on TV, print and online, conveying an effective binary choice to the viewer: to see one movie or the other.”
“Speedee’s claims arise from TWC’s breach of a February 26, 2015 agreement with
TWC, pursuant to which Speedee and TWC agreed to co-finance the production of The Founder and pursuant to which TWC was to distribute the film throughout the
United States. The budget of The Founder was $25,000,000, predominantly paid by Speedee.”
Attorney Evan Chesler who represents the Weinstein Company said, “The Weinstein Company did not breach its contract and it will defend itself vigorously in court.”
