Top Gun was a major banner film in 1986. It catapulted Tom Cruise into the stratosphere of film stardom. Tony Scott became the go-to director for a lot of action films. The film would also make a star out of Maverick’s rival-turned-wingman, Val Kilmer. Also Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson became a huge powerhouse producing team in Hollywood. Paramount had an enormous hit on their hands, but this property didn’t actually become a franchise until 2022, when after careful planning and a treatment of love, they finally gave audiences the follow-up Top Gun: Maverick, which became a massive hit at the box office.
The story of Top Gun dates back to a magazine article from May 1983 from California Magazine. The article was titled Top Guns (which sounds like the title of an upcoming sequel in the franchise), and it was written by the late author Ehud Yonay. Yonay’s family,...
The story of Top Gun dates back to a magazine article from May 1983 from California Magazine. The article was titled Top Guns (which sounds like the title of an upcoming sequel in the franchise), and it was written by the late author Ehud Yonay. Yonay’s family,...
- 4/9/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
A court has ruled that Paramount Studios didn’t infringe any copyright laws when it made Top Gun: Maverick.
For the past two years, Paramount Studios has been embroiled in a legal case over Top Gun: Maverick. In 2022, the family of late journalist Ehud Yonay filed a lawsuit against the studio, alleging that it had broken copyright laws when it made the highwire action sequel.
In 1983, Paramount bought the rights to Yonay’s article Top Guns, originally published in California magazine. That feature formed the basis for director Tony Scott’s Top Gun, which helped turn Tom Cruise into a superstar in 1986.
Decades later, Paramount finally embarked on a sequel, but didn’t re-acquire the rights to Yonay’s article. Yonay’s family, who owned the rights after the author passed away in 2012, filed their suit in May 2022 – a matter of weeks before Top Gun: Maverick appeared in cinemas.
California...
For the past two years, Paramount Studios has been embroiled in a legal case over Top Gun: Maverick. In 2022, the family of late journalist Ehud Yonay filed a lawsuit against the studio, alleging that it had broken copyright laws when it made the highwire action sequel.
In 1983, Paramount bought the rights to Yonay’s article Top Guns, originally published in California magazine. That feature formed the basis for director Tony Scott’s Top Gun, which helped turn Tom Cruise into a superstar in 1986.
Decades later, Paramount finally embarked on a sequel, but didn’t re-acquire the rights to Yonay’s article. Yonay’s family, who owned the rights after the author passed away in 2012, filed their suit in May 2022 – a matter of weeks before Top Gun: Maverick appeared in cinemas.
California...
- 4/9/2024
- by Ryan Lambie
- Film Stories
Paramount has prevailed in the lower courts in a copyright infringement case over Top Gun: Maverick.
In a decision handed down last Friday, April 5, a district judge dismissed the case, brought by the family of Ehud Yonay, a journalist whose 1983 story for California magazine, “Top Guns,” inspired the original 1986 film. At the time, Paramount secured the exclusive movie rights to the story and Yonay received a “based on” credit.
In 2018, six years after Yonay’s death, his family began trying to retrieve the copyright to the story. It reverted back...
In a decision handed down last Friday, April 5, a district judge dismissed the case, brought by the family of Ehud Yonay, a journalist whose 1983 story for California magazine, “Top Guns,” inspired the original 1986 film. At the time, Paramount secured the exclusive movie rights to the story and Yonay received a “based on” credit.
In 2018, six years after Yonay’s death, his family began trying to retrieve the copyright to the story. It reverted back...
- 4/8/2024
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
A judge has ruled that “Top Gun: Maverick” did not infringe on an article about Navy fighter pilots that inspired the original 1986 film.
Paramount bought the rights to the article, “Top Guns,” from author Ehud Yonay in May 1983. But the studio did not re-acquire the rights, which had reverted to Yonay’s widow and son, before releasing the sequel in 2022. “Top Gun: Maverick” grossed $1.5 billion at the box office.
The heirs sued, alleging that the sequel infringed on the copyright in Yonay’s original work. But in a ruling on Friday, Judge Percy Anderson found that any similarities are not protected creative expression under copyright law.
“To the extent Plaintiffs contend that the Works are similar because they depict or describe fighter pilots landing on an aircraft carrier, being shot down while flying, and carousing at a bar, those are unprotected facts, familiar stock scenes, or scènes à faire,” the judge wrote.
Paramount bought the rights to the article, “Top Guns,” from author Ehud Yonay in May 1983. But the studio did not re-acquire the rights, which had reverted to Yonay’s widow and son, before releasing the sequel in 2022. “Top Gun: Maverick” grossed $1.5 billion at the box office.
The heirs sued, alleging that the sequel infringed on the copyright in Yonay’s original work. But in a ruling on Friday, Judge Percy Anderson found that any similarities are not protected creative expression under copyright law.
“To the extent Plaintiffs contend that the Works are similar because they depict or describe fighter pilots landing on an aircraft carrier, being shot down while flying, and carousing at a bar, those are unprotected facts, familiar stock scenes, or scènes à faire,” the judge wrote.
- 4/8/2024
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Paramount has prevailed in a copyright lawsuit, brought by the heirs to the author of a 1983 magazine story that inspired the original Top Gun, accusing the studio of forging ahead with the blockbuster sequel without renegotiating a new license.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, in an order dismissing the case on Friday, found that several elements from the film — including plot, theme, setting and dialogue — are “largely dissimilar” from Ehud Yonay’s article. And to the extent both works revolve around a fighter pilot training school, the court concluded that any overlapping factual similarities aren’t protected by copyright law.
In a statement, copyright termination heavyweight Marc Toberoff, representing the plaintiffs, said the court’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit on summary judgment will be appealed. He added, “Once Yonay’s widow and son exercised their rights under the Copyright Act to reclaim his exhilarating Story, Paramount hand-waved them away exclaiming ‘What copyright?...
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, in an order dismissing the case on Friday, found that several elements from the film — including plot, theme, setting and dialogue — are “largely dissimilar” from Ehud Yonay’s article. And to the extent both works revolve around a fighter pilot training school, the court concluded that any overlapping factual similarities aren’t protected by copyright law.
In a statement, copyright termination heavyweight Marc Toberoff, representing the plaintiffs, said the court’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit on summary judgment will be appealed. He added, “Once Yonay’s widow and son exercised their rights under the Copyright Act to reclaim his exhilarating Story, Paramount hand-waved them away exclaiming ‘What copyright?...
- 4/8/2024
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The nearly two-year old dogfight between Paramount and the family of the writer of the 1983 article that inspired the franchise is over, at least for now.
In an order released late on April 5, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson grounded the copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief action by the Israeli-based widow and son of Ehud Yonay
“Defendant is entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay’s claims for breach of contract, declaratory relief, and copyright infringement,” he wrote in a the one-page judgment in favor of Paramount Pictures (read it here). “Plaintiffs shall take nothing and Defendant shall have its costs of suit.”
“Plaintiffs contend that the Article and Sequel are substantially similar because they have similar plots, sequences of events, pacing, themes, moods, dialogue, characters, and settings,” the judge said in a separate 14-page minutes in chambers...
In an order released late on April 5, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson grounded the copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief action by the Israeli-based widow and son of Ehud Yonay
“Defendant is entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay’s claims for breach of contract, declaratory relief, and copyright infringement,” he wrote in a the one-page judgment in favor of Paramount Pictures (read it here). “Plaintiffs shall take nothing and Defendant shall have its costs of suit.”
“Plaintiffs contend that the Article and Sequel are substantially similar because they have similar plots, sequences of events, pacing, themes, moods, dialogue, characters, and settings,” the judge said in a separate 14-page minutes in chambers...
- 4/8/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Paramount and the heirs to the author of a 1983 magazine story that the original Top Gun was based on are each moving for a federal judge to declare victory in their favor in a copyright lawsuit revolving around the blockbuster sequel.
In a summary judgment motion filed on Monday, the two sides trade arguments over the copyrightability of certain aspects of Ehud Yonay’s article and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski’s inspirations for some parts of the movie alleged to infringe on the writer’s intellectual property.
As evidence that filmmakers copied parts of his article, Yonay’s heirs, Shosh and Yuval, point to scenes and plot devices in the sequel that were detailed in the story but did not appear in the original. At the top list is a scene at a Navy base bar in which Tom Cruise’s Maverick has to buy a round of...
In a summary judgment motion filed on Monday, the two sides trade arguments over the copyrightability of certain aspects of Ehud Yonay’s article and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski’s inspirations for some parts of the movie alleged to infringe on the writer’s intellectual property.
As evidence that filmmakers copied parts of his article, Yonay’s heirs, Shosh and Yuval, point to scenes and plot devices in the sequel that were detailed in the story but did not appear in the original. At the top list is a scene at a Navy base bar in which Tom Cruise’s Maverick has to buy a round of...
- 11/7/2023
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Women Talking” has won the USC Libraries Scripter Award for adapted screenplay in a ceremony that took place on the USC campus in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
The Scripter Award goes to both the writer of an adapted screenplay and the author of the original material on which the screenplay was based, which meant that the award was given to writer-director Sarah Polley and novelist Miriam Toews, whose 2018 novel formed the basis for Polley’s film.
In the 34-year history of the Scripters, the winner has matched the Oscar winner 14 times, most of those in an eight-year streak between 2010 and 2017.
Other finalists were screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro for “Living,” based on Leo Tolstoy’s novella “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”; screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz and journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for “She Said”; and Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” based on...
The Scripter Award goes to both the writer of an adapted screenplay and the author of the original material on which the screenplay was based, which meant that the award was given to writer-director Sarah Polley and novelist Miriam Toews, whose 2018 novel formed the basis for Polley’s film.
In the 34-year history of the Scripters, the winner has matched the Oscar winner 14 times, most of those in an eight-year streak between 2010 and 2017.
Other finalists were screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro for “Living,” based on Leo Tolstoy’s novella “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”; screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz and journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for “She Said”; and Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” based on...
- 3/5/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The USC Scripter Award, now in its 35th year, honors feature films adapted from novels, short stories, nonfiction books, print media, and other movies, with both the screenplay and its source material feted in each case. This year’s nominees include three of Gold Derby’s five leading contenders for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars — “Women Talking,” “She Said,” and “Living” — as well as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” which rank seventh and eighth on our predictions list.
The biggest omissions were “Glass Onion” by Rian Johnson, which is in second place in our Oscar race, and “The Whale” by Samuel D. Hunter, which ranks third.
The Scripter has forecast 14 of the eventual Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay, six of which were in the past decade: “Call Me By Your Name” (2018) “Moonlight” (2017), “The Big Short” (2016), “The Imitation Game” (2015), “12 Years a Slave” (2014), and “Argo” (2013).
The...
The biggest omissions were “Glass Onion” by Rian Johnson, which is in second place in our Oscar race, and “The Whale” by Samuel D. Hunter, which ranks third.
The Scripter has forecast 14 of the eventual Oscar winners for Best Adapted Screenplay, six of which were in the past decade: “Call Me By Your Name” (2018) “Moonlight” (2017), “The Big Short” (2016), “The Imitation Game” (2015), “12 Years a Slave” (2014), and “Argo” (2013).
The...
- 1/18/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” has become the first animated film to be saluted at the USC Libraries Scripter Awards, an annual honor that goes to the screenwriters of a film adaptation as well as the authors of the original work on which the film is based.
“Pinocchio” was named as a finalist alongside the screenplays for “Living,” “She Said,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Women Talking.” Because the original authors are also recognized, 2023 scripter nominees include 19th century Italian writer Carlo Collodi, who wrote the original version of “Pinocchio” in 1880; Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, whose 1886 novella “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” was adapted by Akira Kurosawa for the 1952 film “Ikiru” and by Kazuo Ishiguro for 2022’s “Living”; New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who wrote the book “She Said” about breaking the story of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct and were played in the film version by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan,...
“Pinocchio” was named as a finalist alongside the screenplays for “Living,” “She Said,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Women Talking.” Because the original authors are also recognized, 2023 scripter nominees include 19th century Italian writer Carlo Collodi, who wrote the original version of “Pinocchio” in 1880; Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, whose 1886 novella “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” was adapted by Akira Kurosawa for the 1952 film “Ikiru” and by Kazuo Ishiguro for 2022’s “Living”; New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, who wrote the book “She Said” about breaking the story of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct and were played in the film version by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan,...
- 1/18/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In a year in which the frontrunners for Best Adapted Screenplay are still unclear, the USC Libraries naming the finalists for the 35th annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards offer more insight into what scripts most stand out. The award, which honors the writers of the year’s most accomplished film and episodic series adaptations, as well as the writers of the works on which they are based, is a major bellwether for the Oscars race, as its winners overlapped with the Best Adapted Screenplay winners from 2011 to 2019. Its voter base is a mix of academics, industry professionals, and critics.
As expected, Sarah Polley’s screenplay for “Women Talking,” an adaptation of Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel, of which the filmmaker has already won several critics awards for, is among this year’s Scripter Award finalists. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Living” script (a Tolstoy novella adaptation) and Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s “She Said...
As expected, Sarah Polley’s screenplay for “Women Talking,” an adaptation of Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel, of which the filmmaker has already won several critics awards for, is among this year’s Scripter Award finalists. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Living” script (a Tolstoy novella adaptation) and Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s “She Said...
- 1/18/2023
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “Living,” “She Said,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Women Talking are among the film nominees for this year’s USC Libraries Scripter Awards. In addition, television episodes of “The Crown,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” “Slow Horses,” “Tokyo Vice” and “Under the Banner of Heaven” were also recognized.
A strong bellwether for the Oscars’ best adapted screenplay category, previous Scripter winners that have matched the Academy in the last decade include “Argo” (2012), “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “The Imitation Game” (2014), “The Big Short” (2015), “Moonlight” (2016), “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) and “Nomadland” (2020). Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” (2019) is the only Scripter-eligible film to win the Academy Award without being nominated by the organization.
The inclusion of “Pinocchio” is particularly noteworthy since it’s been picking up awards steam over the last few weeks. It’s a dark horse for one of the five coveted adapted screenplay spots, which could point...
A strong bellwether for the Oscars’ best adapted screenplay category, previous Scripter winners that have matched the Academy in the last decade include “Argo” (2012), “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “The Imitation Game” (2014), “The Big Short” (2015), “Moonlight” (2016), “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) and “Nomadland” (2020). Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” (2019) is the only Scripter-eligible film to win the Academy Award without being nominated by the organization.
The inclusion of “Pinocchio” is particularly noteworthy since it’s been picking up awards steam over the last few weeks. It’s a dark horse for one of the five coveted adapted screenplay spots, which could point...
- 1/18/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Living, She Said, Top Gun: Maverick and Women Talking are the film nominees, and episodes of The Crown, Fleishman Is in Trouble, Slow Horses, Tokyo Vice and Under the Banner of Heaven are the TV finalists, for the 35th USC Scripter Awards, the USC Libraries announced on Wednesday.
The most notable nominations are those of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Top Gun: Maverick, given that the screenplays of those films had not yet received widespread recognition, and that acclaimed adaptations of the novels Lady Chatterley’s Lover and White Noise, the nonfiction work The Good Nurse and the play The Whale were also eligible. (A widely lauded adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front was not eligible, as it is not in the English language.)
This year’s Scripters — the nominations of which were determined, as the winners will be, by a selection committee...
The most notable nominations are those of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Top Gun: Maverick, given that the screenplays of those films had not yet received widespread recognition, and that acclaimed adaptations of the novels Lady Chatterley’s Lover and White Noise, the nonfiction work The Good Nurse and the play The Whale were also eligible. (A widely lauded adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front was not eligible, as it is not in the English language.)
This year’s Scripters — the nominations of which were determined, as the winners will be, by a selection committee...
- 1/18/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The USC Libraries on Wednesday unveiled nominees for its 35th annual USC Libraries Scripter Award, which honors the screenwriters of the year’s best film and episodic series adaptations, along with the writers of the works on which they are based.
Related Story 2022-23 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, Grammys, Guilds & More Related Story Charles White Dies: USC Running Back And Heisman Trophy Winner Was 64 Related Story Hollywood Studies Show Few Gains For Women, People Of Color Directing Films In 2022
This year’s film nominees are the screenwriters and original authors from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Living, She Said, Top Gun: Maverick and Women Talking. In TV, screenwriters were nominated for penning episodes of The Crown, Fleishman Is in Trouble, Slow Horses, Tokyo Vice and Under the Banner of Heaven.
Winners will be announced March 4 at a ceremony at USC’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library,...
Related Story 2022-23 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, Grammys, Guilds & More Related Story Charles White Dies: USC Running Back And Heisman Trophy Winner Was 64 Related Story Hollywood Studies Show Few Gains For Women, People Of Color Directing Films In 2022
This year’s film nominees are the screenwriters and original authors from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Living, She Said, Top Gun: Maverick and Women Talking. In TV, screenwriters were nominated for penning episodes of The Crown, Fleishman Is in Trouble, Slow Horses, Tokyo Vice and Under the Banner of Heaven.
Winners will be announced March 4 at a ceremony at USC’s Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library,...
- 1/18/2023
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Paramount Pictures has failed to get the copyright lawsuit over Top Gun: Maverick dismissed.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, a judge rejected the studio’s motion to dismiss the suit, saying it “contains sufficient well-pleaded facts” to support its claims of copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief. Paramount will now have to file its answer to the suit no later than Nov. 28.
The lawsuit was brought by the family of Ehud Yonay, a journalist who wrote a 1983 article for California magazine called “Top Guns,” which served as the basis for the original 1986 movie.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, a judge rejected the studio’s motion to dismiss the suit, saying it “contains sufficient well-pleaded facts” to support its claims of copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief. Paramount will now have to file its answer to the suit no later than Nov. 28.
The lawsuit was brought by the family of Ehud Yonay, a journalist who wrote a 1983 article for California magazine called “Top Guns,” which served as the basis for the original 1986 movie.
- 11/11/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
A copyright lawsuit over “Top Gun: Maverick” will continue, after a judge on Thursday denied Paramount’s motion to throw out the case.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson held that there are enough similarities between the film and the 1983 magazine article upon which the original “Top Gun” was based to allow the author’s heirs to pursue the lawsuit.
The widow and son of author Ehud Yonay filed the case in June, arguing that the studio had never bothered to renew the rights to the article about the Navy Fighter Weapons School, which ran in California magazine. Paramount countered that it did not need the rights, because the sequel bore little resemblance to the article and because facts about the school are not subject to copyright protection.
“Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about ‘Top Gun,'” Paramount’s lawyers argued.
But in his ruling on Thursday,...
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson held that there are enough similarities between the film and the 1983 magazine article upon which the original “Top Gun” was based to allow the author’s heirs to pursue the lawsuit.
The widow and son of author Ehud Yonay filed the case in June, arguing that the studio had never bothered to renew the rights to the article about the Navy Fighter Weapons School, which ran in California magazine. Paramount countered that it did not need the rights, because the sequel bore little resemblance to the article and because facts about the school are not subject to copyright protection.
“Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about ‘Top Gun,'” Paramount’s lawyers argued.
But in his ruling on Thursday,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
A judge has refused to dismiss a copyright lawsuit from the heirs to the author of a 1983 magazine story that the original Top Gun was based on that accused Paramount of illegally shutting them out of the sequel.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson found on Thursday that the suit pointed to enough similarities between the story and Top Gun: Maverick to survive dismissal. “Defendant’s primary argument in its Motion to Dismiss is that Plaintiffs have not sufficiently pled in their [complaint] that the Article and the Sequel are ‘substantially similar,'” reads the order. “The Court disagrees.”
Paramount acquired the film rights to Ehud Yonay’s California Magazine story in 1983 immediately following publication. In June, Paramount was sued by the heirs to Yonay. Shosh and Yuval Yonay argued that they reclaimed their rights to the article under a provision in copyright law...
A judge has refused to dismiss a copyright lawsuit from the heirs to the author of a 1983 magazine story that the original Top Gun was based on that accused Paramount of illegally shutting them out of the sequel.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson found on Thursday that the suit pointed to enough similarities between the story and Top Gun: Maverick to survive dismissal. “Defendant’s primary argument in its Motion to Dismiss is that Plaintiffs have not sufficiently pled in their [complaint] that the Article and the Sequel are ‘substantially similar,'” reads the order. “The Court disagrees.”
Paramount acquired the film rights to Ehud Yonay’s California Magazine story in 1983 immediately following publication. In June, Paramount was sued by the heirs to Yonay. Shosh and Yuval Yonay argued that they reclaimed their rights to the article under a provision in copyright law...
- 11/11/2022
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paramount has come up short in its effort to ground a Top Gun: Maverick copyright lawsuit.
“Defendant’s primary argument in its Motion to Dismiss is that Plaintiffs have not sufficiently pled in their Fac that the Article and the Sequel are ‘substantially similar,'” U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson wrote in a court order released Thursday. “The Court disagrees.”
“For all of the foregoing reasons, the Court denies the Motion to Dismiss,” the dense order (read it here) continued. “The Court concludes that the Fac contains sufficient well-pleaded facts to state viable claims for copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief.”
Or, as Tom Cruise says in the highflying blockbuster: “Mach 10? Let’s give them Mach 10!”
“While the Court declined to dismiss the case at this very early stage in the proceedings, we will continue to vigorously defend this lawsuit and are confident that discovery will...
“Defendant’s primary argument in its Motion to Dismiss is that Plaintiffs have not sufficiently pled in their Fac that the Article and the Sequel are ‘substantially similar,'” U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson wrote in a court order released Thursday. “The Court disagrees.”
“For all of the foregoing reasons, the Court denies the Motion to Dismiss,” the dense order (read it here) continued. “The Court concludes that the Fac contains sufficient well-pleaded facts to state viable claims for copyright infringement, breach of contract, and declaratory relief.”
Or, as Tom Cruise says in the highflying blockbuster: “Mach 10? Let’s give them Mach 10!”
“While the Court declined to dismiss the case at this very early stage in the proceedings, we will continue to vigorously defend this lawsuit and are confident that discovery will...
- 11/11/2022
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Decades before Tom Cruise took to the skies as Maverick in 1986 hit Top Gun, real pilots were learning air combat tactics at the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School just outside of San Diego. In 1996, the Topgun program became part of the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center and found a new home in the Nevada desert at Nas Fallon.
Paramount’s lawyers are using that history as firepower in defense of a copyright suit over Top Gun: Maverick.
In June, Paramount was sued by the heirs to Ehud Yonay, the author of a 1983 California Magazine story entitled “Top Guns.” Shosh and Yuval Yonay claim the original movie was based on the article, and they’ve reclaimed the rights in the work under advantage of a provision in U.S. copyright law that allows authors to terminate licenses after waiting a period of time,...
Decades before Tom Cruise took to the skies as Maverick in 1986 hit Top Gun, real pilots were learning air combat tactics at the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School just outside of San Diego. In 1996, the Topgun program became part of the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center and found a new home in the Nevada desert at Nas Fallon.
Paramount’s lawyers are using that history as firepower in defense of a copyright suit over Top Gun: Maverick.
In June, Paramount was sued by the heirs to Ehud Yonay, the author of a 1983 California Magazine story entitled “Top Guns.” Shosh and Yuval Yonay claim the original movie was based on the article, and they’ve reclaimed the rights in the work under advantage of a provision in U.S. copyright law that allows authors to terminate licenses after waiting a period of time,...
- 8/29/2022
- by Ashley Cullins
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hollywood studio Paramount recently filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that claims that ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ infringes on the copyright of the 1983 magazine article that was the source material for the original film, reports Variety.
Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the widow and son of writer Ehud Yonay, filed the suit in June, arguing that the studio made the sequel without first renewing the rights to the article.
In the motion to dismiss, Paramount, according to Variety, argued that it did not need to obtain the rights, because ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a work of fiction that has almost nothing in common with the non-fiction article and that the facts and ideas conveyed in the article cannot be copyrighted.
“Any similarity between these vastly different works derives from the fact that Top Gun is an actual naval training facility,” the studio’s lawyers argue. “Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly...
Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the widow and son of writer Ehud Yonay, filed the suit in June, arguing that the studio made the sequel without first renewing the rights to the article.
In the motion to dismiss, Paramount, according to Variety, argued that it did not need to obtain the rights, because ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a work of fiction that has almost nothing in common with the non-fiction article and that the facts and ideas conveyed in the article cannot be copyrighted.
“Any similarity between these vastly different works derives from the fact that Top Gun is an actual naval training facility,” the studio’s lawyers argue. “Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly...
- 8/28/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
“It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot,” they say in the Tom Cruise-starring blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, and that’s kind of what Paramount thinks about a copyright lawsuit they’ve been slapped with over the fighter jet film.
“When the Court reviews the article and Maverick, as opposed to Plaintiffs’ irrelevant and misleading purported comparison of the works, it is clear as a matter of law that Maverick does not borrow any of the article’s protected expression,” says Paramount in a motion to dismiss response filed Friday in federal court in California.
“Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about Top Gun.”
The dispute is between Paramount Pictures and the Israeli-based widow and son of the author of a 1983 article that inspired the original 1986 movie.
In a copyright suit filed earlier this summer in California federal court, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay want unspecified...
“When the Court reviews the article and Maverick, as opposed to Plaintiffs’ irrelevant and misleading purported comparison of the works, it is clear as a matter of law that Maverick does not borrow any of the article’s protected expression,” says Paramount in a motion to dismiss response filed Friday in federal court in California.
“Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about Top Gun.”
The dispute is between Paramount Pictures and the Israeli-based widow and son of the author of a 1983 article that inspired the original 1986 movie.
In a copyright suit filed earlier this summer in California federal court, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay want unspecified...
- 8/27/2022
- by Dominic Patten and Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Paramount filed a motion on Friday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims that “Top Gun: Maverick” infringes on the copyright of the 1983 magazine article that was the source material for the original film.
Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the widow and son of writer Ehud Yonay, filed the suit in June, arguing that the studio made the sequel without first renewing the rights to the article.
In the motion to dismiss, Paramount argued that it did not need to obtain the rights, because “Top Gun: Maverick” is a work of fiction that has almost nothing in common with the non-fiction article and that the facts and ideas conveyed in the article cannot be copyrighted.
“(A)ny similarity between these vastly different works derives from the fact that Top Gun is an actual naval training facility,” the studio’s lawyers argue. “Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about Top Gun.
Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the widow and son of writer Ehud Yonay, filed the suit in June, arguing that the studio made the sequel without first renewing the rights to the article.
In the motion to dismiss, Paramount argued that it did not need to obtain the rights, because “Top Gun: Maverick” is a work of fiction that has almost nothing in common with the non-fiction article and that the facts and ideas conveyed in the article cannot be copyrighted.
“(A)ny similarity between these vastly different works derives from the fact that Top Gun is an actual naval training facility,” the studio’s lawyers argue. “Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about Top Gun.
- 8/27/2022
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
On Monday, Paramount Pictures celebrated its 357 million global box-office performance for “Top Gun: Maverick” — and faced a federal copyright lawsuit from the heirs of the late Ehud Yonay, author of the 1983 magazine story that inspired the original “Top Gun.”
Nearly four decades ago, Paramount secured rights to “Top Guns,” an article published in the May 1983 issue of the now-folded California magazine; Yonay received a writing credit for the article on the original 1986 film, with a screenplay by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
In 2018, Yonay’s heirs filed for what’s known as termination rights. So now they argue it is them — not Paramount — who currently owns the underlying rights to make any movies based on “Top Guns.” They claim Paramount didn’t ask for permission — or pay them to make “Maverick.”
The plaintiffs are Ehud’s window Shosh and his son Yuval. On June 6, they asked a Los Angeles...
Nearly four decades ago, Paramount secured rights to “Top Guns,” an article published in the May 1983 issue of the now-folded California magazine; Yonay received a writing credit for the article on the original 1986 film, with a screenplay by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
In 2018, Yonay’s heirs filed for what’s known as termination rights. So now they argue it is them — not Paramount — who currently owns the underlying rights to make any movies based on “Top Guns.” They claim Paramount didn’t ask for permission — or pay them to make “Maverick.”
The plaintiffs are Ehud’s window Shosh and his son Yuval. On June 6, they asked a Los Angeles...
- 6/7/2022
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
Screenwriter Jack Epps Jr. took the assignment to write a movie called Top Gun in the mid-1980s for one reason: he wanted to fly in a fighter jet.
“I have my private pilot’s license that I got when I was an undergraduate at Michigan State, so as a private pilot, I said, ‘Well, that’d be fun,’” Epps tells Den of Geek during a recent Zoom chat. “At least I’ll get a jet ride out of it, if nothing else.’”
Epps and his writing partner, the late Jim Cash, got a lot more out of it than that out of Top Gun. The story of a rogue fighter pilot named Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who joins the Navy’s elite Fighter Weapons School at Miramar base in southern California and must learn the hard way how to fly and fight as part of a team, Top Gun became...
“I have my private pilot’s license that I got when I was an undergraduate at Michigan State, so as a private pilot, I said, ‘Well, that’d be fun,’” Epps tells Den of Geek during a recent Zoom chat. “At least I’ll get a jet ride out of it, if nothing else.’”
Epps and his writing partner, the late Jim Cash, got a lot more out of it than that out of Top Gun. The story of a rogue fighter pilot named Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who joins the Navy’s elite Fighter Weapons School at Miramar base in southern California and must learn the hard way how to fly and fight as part of a team, Top Gun became...
- 6/7/2022
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
The heirs of the author of a magazine article that served as the basis for Top Gun have sued Paramount Pictures, claiming the studio went ahead with the new sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, despite knowingly no longer owning the copyright.
As noted in the lawsuit (which was shared by Variety), the original 1986 Top Gun was based on Ehud Yonay’s 1983 story for California magazine, entitled “Top Guns.” Paramount secured the exclusive movie rights to the story after it was published, and Yonay received a “based on” credit as well.
In 2018, Yonay’s children,...
As noted in the lawsuit (which was shared by Variety), the original 1986 Top Gun was based on Ehud Yonay’s 1983 story for California magazine, entitled “Top Guns.” Paramount secured the exclusive movie rights to the story after it was published, and Yonay received a “based on” credit as well.
In 2018, Yonay’s children,...
- 6/7/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
"Top Gun: Maverick" has been flying some remarkably friendly skies since its Memorial Day weekend opening. The film took off theatrically in the U.S. with a stratospheric 160 million four-day gross, and dropped a mere 29 over its second weekend, the best-ever domestic hold for a movie that opened over 100 million. Backed by rave reviews and a rare A+ Cinemascore, Paramount and star Tom Cruise have a bona-fide phenomenon on their hands. So maybe they were due a little choppy air.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the heirs of Ehud Yonay, the journalist who wrote the 1983 Californian article on which 1986's "Top Gun"...
The post Paramount Faces Lawsuit Over Top Gun: Maverick Copyright Claim appeared first on /Film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the heirs of Ehud Yonay, the journalist who wrote the 1983 Californian article on which 1986's "Top Gun"...
The post Paramount Faces Lawsuit Over Top Gun: Maverick Copyright Claim appeared first on /Film.
- 6/6/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
“Good morning aviators,” Tom Cruise says in a line from blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. “This is your captain speaking. Today’s exercise is dogfighting.”
Specifically, there is now a legal dogfight between the film’s box office high-flyer Paramount Pictures and the Israeli-based widow and son of the author of the 1983 article that inspired the original 1986 movie.
In a copyright suit filed Monday in California federal court, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay want unspecified but clearly big-bucks damages from the studio and, with a very odd sense of timing, an injunction to stop screenings and distribution of the May 27-released sequel, as well as any more more movies in the franchise.
Calling Top Gun: Maverick “derivative,” the Marc Toberoff- and Alex Kozinski-represented Yonays allege that Paramount is “thumbing its nose at the statute” that allows the termination of rights after 35 years (read the court complaint here).
“These claims are without merit,...
Specifically, there is now a legal dogfight between the film’s box office high-flyer Paramount Pictures and the Israeli-based widow and son of the author of the 1983 article that inspired the original 1986 movie.
In a copyright suit filed Monday in California federal court, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay want unspecified but clearly big-bucks damages from the studio and, with a very odd sense of timing, an injunction to stop screenings and distribution of the May 27-released sequel, as well as any more more movies in the franchise.
Calling Top Gun: Maverick “derivative,” the Marc Toberoff- and Alex Kozinski-represented Yonays allege that Paramount is “thumbing its nose at the statute” that allows the termination of rights after 35 years (read the court complaint here).
“These claims are without merit,...
- 6/6/2022
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Paramount Pictures has been drawn into a potentially massive legal battle over the rights to Top Gun. According to a lawsuit filed on Monday in California federal court, the studio knew it didn’t have the rights to the sequel but forged ahead with production and distribution anyway.
The complaint was filed by Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the heirs to the author of the 1983 California magazine story, Ehud Yonay, entitled “Top Guns” that the original movie was based on. They are taking advantage of a provision in copyright law that allows authors to reclaim the rights to their works after waiting a period of time, typically 35 years. The clause has quickly become a massive thorn in the side of studios that face the prospect of losing franchise rights to many iconic works from the 1980s.
The Yonays claim that the rights to the...
Paramount Pictures has been drawn into a potentially massive legal battle over the rights to Top Gun. According to a lawsuit filed on Monday in California federal court, the studio knew it didn’t have the rights to the sequel but forged ahead with production and distribution anyway.
The complaint was filed by Shosh and Yuval Yonay, the heirs to the author of the 1983 California magazine story, Ehud Yonay, entitled “Top Guns” that the original movie was based on. They are taking advantage of a provision in copyright law that allows authors to reclaim the rights to their works after waiting a period of time, typically 35 years. The clause has quickly become a massive thorn in the side of studios that face the prospect of losing franchise rights to many iconic works from the 1980s.
The Yonays claim that the rights to the...
- 6/6/2022
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Family of Ehud Yonay, author of source material for the 1986 blockbuster starring Tom Cruise, launch legal action against hit sequel
The family of the author whose article inspired the 1986 Tom Cruise movie Top Gun on Monday sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement over this year’s blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, the Paramount Global unit failed to reacquire the rights to Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article “Top Guns”, which appeared in a 1983 issue of California magazine, from his family before releasing the “derivative” sequel.
The family of the author whose article inspired the 1986 Tom Cruise movie Top Gun on Monday sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement over this year’s blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, the Paramount Global unit failed to reacquire the rights to Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article “Top Guns”, which appeared in a 1983 issue of California magazine, from his family before releasing the “derivative” sequel.
- 6/6/2022
- by Staff and agencies
- The Guardian - Film News
The original “Top Gun” was based on a 1983 article in California magazine. On Monday, the author’s heirs sued Paramount Pictures, claiming that the studio is profiting wildly from the sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” even though it no longer holds the copyright to the magazine story.
The article’s author, Ehud Yonay, died in 2012. His widow, Shosh Yonay, and son, Yuval Yonay, filed a notice in 2018 reclaiming the copyright to the story, which took effect in 2020.
In the lawsuit, they argue that Paramount distributed “Top Gun: Maverick” without obtaining a new license to use the underlying material. The suit seeks damages as well as an injunction that would bar Paramount from distributing the film.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is currently the top grossing film in theaters, with a domestic haul nearing 300 million.
The Yonays are represented by Marc Toberoff, an attorney who is a veteran of copyright termination battles with the major studios.
The article’s author, Ehud Yonay, died in 2012. His widow, Shosh Yonay, and son, Yuval Yonay, filed a notice in 2018 reclaiming the copyright to the story, which took effect in 2020.
In the lawsuit, they argue that Paramount distributed “Top Gun: Maverick” without obtaining a new license to use the underlying material. The suit seeks damages as well as an injunction that would bar Paramount from distributing the film.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is currently the top grossing film in theaters, with a domestic haul nearing 300 million.
The Yonays are represented by Marc Toberoff, an attorney who is a veteran of copyright termination battles with the major studios.
- 6/6/2022
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
The heirs of the original writer of a magazine article that inspired the 1986 film “Top Gun” sued Paramount Pictures, saying the studio willfully ignored a copyright claim filed in 2018 – before making the high-flying sequel starring Tom Cruise.
Ehud Yonay wrote an article titled “Top Guns” for the relatively unknown California Magazine in 1983, only to see it made into a blockbuster film three years later. He was rightfully credited as the “story-by” author at the time, and still is.
Also Read:
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Keeps Flying High at Box Office With 86 Million 2nd Weekend
According to his lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for central California by Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, the copyright was legally re-claimed in 2018, a statutory termination triggered after enough time had passed. The suit says the “Top Gun” sequel, a direct derivative of his original story, is in violation of that claim, which Paramount ignored.
Ehud Yonay wrote an article titled “Top Guns” for the relatively unknown California Magazine in 1983, only to see it made into a blockbuster film three years later. He was rightfully credited as the “story-by” author at the time, and still is.
Also Read:
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Keeps Flying High at Box Office With 86 Million 2nd Weekend
According to his lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for central California by Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, the copyright was legally re-claimed in 2018, a statutory termination triggered after enough time had passed. The suit says the “Top Gun” sequel, a direct derivative of his original story, is in violation of that claim, which Paramount ignored.
- 6/6/2022
- by Josh Dickey
- The Wrap
As Top Gun: Maverick arrives in theaters this week, it will be almost 36 years exactly since the original Top Gun was released. That first movie became not only the biggest hit of 1986, but one of the signature films in the career of Tom Cruise and a permanent part of the cultural zeitgeist.
Inspired by an article called “Top Guns,” written by Ehud Yonay for the May 1983 issue of California magazine, the film detailed the lives of pilots at the Navy’s elite Fighter Weapons School (known as Topgun) in Miramar, California. Written for the screen by Jack Epps Jr. and the late Jim Cash, the Tony Scott-directed movie starred Cruise as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a skilled pilot and natural rogue who must learn how to become part of a team if he wants to fly the dangerous missions he’s training for.
Top Gun is remembered for not...
Inspired by an article called “Top Guns,” written by Ehud Yonay for the May 1983 issue of California magazine, the film detailed the lives of pilots at the Navy’s elite Fighter Weapons School (known as Topgun) in Miramar, California. Written for the screen by Jack Epps Jr. and the late Jim Cash, the Tony Scott-directed movie starred Cruise as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a skilled pilot and natural rogue who must learn how to become part of a team if he wants to fly the dangerous missions he’s training for.
Top Gun is remembered for not...
- 5/27/2022
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Could there be a more quintessentially 1980s movie than "Top Gun?"
All that lovingly-photographed military hardware, that synth-pop soundtrack featuring two Kenny Loggins tunes, and a grinning Tom Cruise at his cockiest. He felt the need for speed, and for 30 years (since the film's release on May 16, 1986), you've been watching Cruise's Maverick soar in his fighter jet and overcome his paternal-abandonment issues.
Still, as many times as you've re-watched "Top Gun," there's a lot you may not know about the this '80s classic. Here are the Navy pilot saga's secrets, declassified.
1. The film originated as "Top Guns," a 1983 article by Ehud Yonay in California Magazine. It profiled the Navy pilot training center at Miramar, in San Diego, and featured aerial photography by a Top Gun pilot. Co-screenwriter Jack Epps Jr. researched the script by attending Top Gun classes and getting flown around in an F-14.
2. Tom Cruise wasn't actually...
All that lovingly-photographed military hardware, that synth-pop soundtrack featuring two Kenny Loggins tunes, and a grinning Tom Cruise at his cockiest. He felt the need for speed, and for 30 years (since the film's release on May 16, 1986), you've been watching Cruise's Maverick soar in his fighter jet and overcome his paternal-abandonment issues.
Still, as many times as you've re-watched "Top Gun," there's a lot you may not know about the this '80s classic. Here are the Navy pilot saga's secrets, declassified.
1. The film originated as "Top Guns," a 1983 article by Ehud Yonay in California Magazine. It profiled the Navy pilot training center at Miramar, in San Diego, and featured aerial photography by a Top Gun pilot. Co-screenwriter Jack Epps Jr. researched the script by attending Top Gun classes and getting flown around in an F-14.
2. Tom Cruise wasn't actually...
- 5/13/2016
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
According to reports, director Tony Scott of Scott Free, wants to mount "Top Gun 2", starring an older, but wiser Tom Cruise, focusing on the modern day air force.
"These computer geeks," said Scott, "these kids play war games in a trailer in Fallon, Nevada and if we ever went to war or were in the Middle East or the Far East or wherever it is, these guys can actually fly drones. They are unmanned aircraft. They operate them and then they party all night."
The first "Top Gun" feature, released in 1986, grossed $353,816,701 worldwide.
Directed by Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures, the screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr., inspired by the article "Top Guns" written by Ehud Yonay for "California Magazine".
In the film, co-starring Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt, Cruise plays 'Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell',...
"These computer geeks," said Scott, "these kids play war games in a trailer in Fallon, Nevada and if we ever went to war or were in the Middle East or the Far East or wherever it is, these guys can actually fly drones. They are unmanned aircraft. They operate them and then they party all night."
The first "Top Gun" feature, released in 1986, grossed $353,816,701 worldwide.
Directed by Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures, the screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr., inspired by the article "Top Guns" written by Ehud Yonay for "California Magazine".
In the film, co-starring Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt, Cruise plays 'Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell',...
- 10/25/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
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