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Screenwriter Sues John Wick Studios for $10M
8 Jun
Summary
- Screenwriter alleges John Wick premise copied from his work.
- Lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages for alleged infringement.
- Alleged similarities include assassin protagonist and 'gun-fu' sequences.
A screenwriter has filed a lawsuit alleging that the immensely popular John Wick film franchise was derived from his original work. Jeffery Ryan Wicker is suing writer Derek Kolstad and production studios Thunder Road Film Productions and Lionsgate Entertainment, seeking $10 million in damages.
Wicker claims that his screenplay, "Blood for Escobar," was shared with Kolstad through industry contacts and subsequently formed the basis for the "John Wick" screenplays. He asserts that key plot points and character elements were copied.
The lawsuit highlights alleged similarities between his protagonist, Alex Rosenthal, and John Wick. Both are described as highly-trained assassins dealing with personal loss, self-medicating, and driving vintage cars.
Specific scenes, including a violent "gun-fu" battle that erupts during a high-society event in "John Wick: Chapter 2," are also cited as evidence of copyright infringement from Wicker's "Blood for Escobar" narrative.
