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  • SUNDAY DECEMBER 5 2004 10:05 PM

Makers of "Matrix" and "Terminator" sued for copyright infringment, and lost!

Submitted by Motionboy

Edited by Sean

It seems the Wachowski bros couldnt come up for the crap storyline of matrix by themselves!

"Monday, October 4th 2004 ended a six-year dispute involving Sophia Stewart, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver and Warner Brothers. Stewart's allegations, involving copyright infringement and racketeering, were received and acknowledged by the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow residing.

Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars.

Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, "The Third Eye," copyrighted in 1981. In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works.

According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film, in attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that "credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers." These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that it had been "often used during preparation of the motion pictures."
The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart's case dismissed, without success."

full story here:

http://www.slccglobelink.com/main.c...yid/785067.html

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Comments
alpo

alpo

Portland, OR
OLD SKOOL

DEC 06, 2004 03:04 AM

louys said:

alpo said:
Does this mean that William Gibson and the estate of Philip K. Dick will now be able to sue and win the other half of the Wachowskis' money? 'Cause they sure deserve to.



I don't see so much uh, Dick in the Matrix



Read The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. smile

fiendish

fiendish

USA
December 2002

DEC 06, 2004 03:21 AM

Sivart said:

elanmars said:
well, everyone's talking about matrix but no one is saying shit about the terminator movies...

so yeah, what's THAT all about?



you didn't notice any similarities between the terminator and matrix stories? it's not much of a stretch to picture the terminator movies being the back story for the matrix.



similarities between terminator and matrix?

not really no, very little and if that is the case than allot of movies can be a accused of copyright infringement confused

the idea of robots and machines take over is allot older than 1981 robot

Daevric

Daevric

Medford, MA
November 2003

DEC 06, 2004 03:54 AM

docsmith said:
normally I think people who sue are assholes just looking for a buck. but the legitimate ones that win rock.



So, because they win, they're legitamate? Like the McDonald's lady that sued for millions of dollars because her fucking coffee was hot, and she was too retarded to realize it without a warning label?


RallyB said:
I love how everyone rags on the Matrix sequels and no one talks about how Peter Jackson, starting with the 2nd LotR and then bigtime in the 3rd, made all these stupid changes (he removed my favorite part of the series: when Sam puts on the ring!) The only problem with 3rd Matrix was no tension in the fight scene at the end. Meanwhile, 3rd LotR has great fight scenes, so no one minds that the books have been bastardized.



Wait, WHAT?! *distinctly remember Sam using the ring in the 3rd movie* I agree that he changed some parts of the story and left others out (a lot of which are put back in for the extended editions, because there's no way they could make a theatrical release that long), but you can't say that Jackson screwed with the feel of the story. As a huge Tolkein fan, and one that has read the actual trilogy at least five or six times, I can say that the only changes to the feel of the story have been for the better. You have to admit that in the original work, the characters had about as much depth as a puddle in the desert.

verybad_j

verybad_j

United Kingdom
October 2004

DEC 06, 2004 03:57 AM

I loved fthe 1st film..and did enjoy the 2nd and 3rd although not as much as the 1st..even if the ending for revolutions is somewhat unsatisfactory..

I also enjoyed LOTR and am a massive Star Wars fan but you know what??

What movies you like and watch is a personal preference thing..no one is forced to go to the movies and spend their hard earned cash..if you don't like them fair enough, don't watch them then!!!!

I wish people would spend less time complaining, whinging and stuff..just be positive about the things you do like!!

If it is true then I hope this woman gets all the money she deserves, no one should be ripped off like that.

j smile

apesamongus

apesamongus

Atlanta, GA
July 2002

DEC 06, 2004 05:05 AM

Turin said:

cthav said:

I never even bothered to watch the last one.



why not? it was good.



Seriously, you must be kidding. Robots crucified Keanu.

galvagin

galvagin

Silver Spring, MD
June 2003

DEC 06, 2004 05:21 AM

almostfamous said:
erm, someone already sued james cameron over the terminator movies, for plagiarism, and won. and the script in question was written before this 'third eye' business.

so does that mean that this story is a load of crap, or that this woman is herself a plagiarist?




Harlan Ellison sued Cameron over "Terminator" and won. (scroll down). (I only know this b/c Ellison is one of my favorite authors, and a total bastard about any perceived copyright infringement).

To the article's credit, it doesn't say that the Matrix suit included the Terminator as well (unless I missed it). It just makes a reference to the fact that Stewart has metaphorically triumphed over Matrix- and Terminator-*style* 'technocracy' (of course, the humans in the Terminator also seem to be technocrats, but nevermind).

Mallory

Mallory

SUICIDEGIRL

Connecticut, USA

DEC 06, 2004 05:36 AM

haha

almostfamous

almostfamous

NEWSWIRE

United Kingdom

DEC 06, 2004 05:59 AM

galvagin said:

almostfamous said:
erm, someone already sued james cameron over the terminator movies, for plagiarism, and won. and the script in question was written before this 'third eye' business.

so does that mean that this story is a load of crap, or that this woman is herself a plagiarist?




Harlan Ellison sued Cameron over "Terminator" and won. (scroll down). (I only know this b/c Ellison is one of my favorite authors, and a total bastard about any perceived copyright infringement).

To the article's credit, it doesn't say that the Matrix suit included the Terminator as well (unless I missed it). It just makes a reference to the fact that Stewart has metaphorically triumphed over Matrix- and Terminator-*style* 'technocracy' (of course, the humans in the Terminator also seem to be technocrats, but nevermind).



you missed it

Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars.



but thanks for the link smile

projectnova

projectnova

San Francisco, CA
July 2002

DEC 06, 2004 08:54 AM

Whoa.

Shawna

shawna

Marquette, MI
April 2004

DEC 06, 2004 09:14 AM

"The reason you have not seen any of this in the media is because Warner Brothers parent company is AOL-Time Warner... this GIANT owns 95 percent of the media... let me give you a clue as to what they own in the media business... New York Times papers/magazines, LA Times papers/magazines, People Magazine, CNN news, Extra, Celebrity Justice, Entertainment Tonight, HBO, New Line Cinema, Dreamworks, Newsweek, Village Roadshow... many, many more!... They are not going to report on themselves. They have been surpressing my case for years..."



I knew it! stupid media-giants!

hack

hack

Canada
February 2003

DEC 06, 2004 09:17 AM

So, if this were a criminal case and not a civil one, would the Wachowski brother who had a sex change serve his time in a P4W?

AcidGrampa

AcidGrampa

Berkeley, CA
September 2003

DEC 06, 2004 09:26 AM

Why can't I find this being reported anywhere else (at least nowhere on Google news search)?

[Edited on Dec 06, 2004 10:20AM]

I_Poop_Too_Much

I_Poop_Too_Much

I'm lost
February 2004

DEC 06, 2004 09:51 AM

Keenan said:
Wow. Can't believe so many people hate the Matrix sequels. Its one of the best trilogies of our time. Even better than the LOTR trilogy. If anything should be shat upon, its Terminator 3 puke



Please tell me you're kidding.

LOTR is the most important literary work of the 20th century.

Matrix is....poorly thought out and written out hack work.

zombi00

zombi00

Portland, OR
February 2004

DEC 06, 2004 10:29 AM

eyeofcolossus said:

Keenan said:
Wow. Can't believe so many people hate the Matrix sequels. Its one of the best trilogies of our time. Even better than the LOTR trilogy. If anything should be shat upon, its Terminator 3 puke



Please tell me you're kidding.

LOTR is the most important literary work of the 20th century.

Matrix is....poorly thought out and written out hack work.



most inportant? seriously? is just an old rehash of the worlds greatest fantasy book: the bible.
when you think of all the literary classics in the last century how does LOTR eek its way to the top?

I_Poop_Too_Much

I_Poop_Too_Much

I'm lost
February 2004

DEC 06, 2004 11:17 AM

zombi00 said:

eyeofcolossus said:

Keenan said:
Wow. Can't believe so many people hate the Matrix sequels. Its one of the best trilogies of our time. Even better than the LOTR trilogy. If anything should be shat upon, its Terminator 3 puke



Please tell me you're kidding.

LOTR is the most important literary work of the 20th century.

Matrix is....poorly thought out and written out hack work.



most inportant? seriously? is just an old rehash of the worlds greatest fantasy book: the bible.
when you think of all the literary classics in the last century how does LOTR eek its way to the top?



Name anything else in the 20th century that's had the impact and lasting appeal of LOTR? Name other 20th century "classics"? I obviously wont live long enough to prove it, but in 100+ years, LOTR will be "classic" literature used in schools, revered as a highlight of the 20th century. Of course, if I were to say that Star Wars was the most important movie ever made (and yea, it is. deal with it.), you'd probably debate the obvious merit to that claim too.

And explain your bible analogy? I dont remember any magic rings, fantasy creatures, etc in the Bible....Bible, by the way, being a mishmask of tons of other religions. A rehash, if you will.

[Edited on Dec 06, 2004 by eyeofcolossus]

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