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Screenplay Plaintiffs Can Proceed Against Production Co., But Not Film Distributor

By Amanda Bronstad

Two brothers who assert that their copyrighted screenplay The Last Samurai was stolen to make the 2003 film of the same name can go to trial against the production company and its principals, but not distributor Warner Bros. Entertainment or writer John Logan, a federal judge has ruled. In a Feb. 14 order on summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez in Los Angeles found that Aaron and Matthew Benay, who had pitched their screenplay idea to The Bedford Falls Co. and one of its executives in 2000, could pursue their implied-in-fact contract claims against the production company and its two partners, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. Gutierrez granted summary judgment, however, for Warner Bros. and Logan. Benay v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 08-55719.

'We are gratified by the court's dismissal of Zwick, Herskovitz and Bedford's motion for summary judgment,” John Marder of Marder, Zink & Karlzen in Los Angeles, who represents the Benays, said in a prepared statement. “As for Warner Bros., we are researching our options for appeal. We want to make certain that all the responsible parties are held accountable.”

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