The screenwriter of the original 1989 movie “Road House” is suing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its parent company, Amazon Studios, for copyright infringement.
Lance Hill (who also goes by pen name David Lee Henry) wrote the original script for the film starring Patrick Swayze as a bouncer with a Ph.D. in philosophy and a karate black belt who is tasked with cleaning up a small Missouri bar.
A “Road House” remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal is being released on March 21 on Prime Video.
Hill’s lawsuit states that in 2021, he told the original film’s producers, United Artists, that the copyright grant was ending and the rights would revert to him on November 11, 2023.
Hill claims that Amazon Studios ignored his petition and used AI (artificial intelligence) technology in place of real actors during the Screen Actors Guild strike so it could complete the film before the November 10 deadline, per Variety.
Hill claimed the film wasn’t really completed until January, which was past the deadline, and that it heavily borrowed from his original “Road House” script.
“On Nov. 11, 2023, the Screenplay’s copyright thereby duly reverted to Hill under the Copyright Act. Yet, in contravention of the Act’s fundamental authorial termination right, Defendants refused to acknowledge Hill’s statutory termination,” the suit reads. “Instead, Defendants steamrolled ahead with the production of a remake of the 1989 Film derived from Hill’s Screenplay.”
A rep from Amazon MGM Studios denied these allegations. “The lawsuit filed by R. Lance Hill regarding ‘Road House’ today is completely without merit, and numerous allegations are categorically false,” the rep told Variety in a statement. “The film does not use any AI in place of actors’ voices. We look forward to defending ourselves against these claims.”
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This isn’t the only “Road House” drama in the news. Director Doug Liman is boycotting the film because it’s skipping theaters and going directly to streaming, the outlet noted. Liman will not attend the movie’s premiere at SXSW on March 8.
Gyllenhaal spoke up about the situation, saying, “I adore Doug’s tenacity, and I think he is advocating for filmmakers, and film in the cinema, and theatrical releases. But, I mean, Amazon was always clear that it was streaming.”