A relative of a Top Gun: Maverick scriptwriter has filed a lawsuit against Paramount, claiming that he was a co-writer of the screenplay.
On Sunday, Shaun Gray filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York, claiming that he wrote crucial scenes for the upcoming film sequel after being asked by screenwriter Eric Warren Singer and director Joseph Kosinski to contribute to the story’s development. He is asking the court to compel Paramount Pictures to give him a writing credit and a portion of the profits. This means that Gray wants the court to make Paramount officially acknowledge his contribution as a writer in the film and share some of their earnings with him.
The ongoing legal dispute signifies the second courtroom clash regarding the ownership rights of Top Gun: Maverick. Back in 2023, descendants of the writer behind a 1983 magazine article that sparked the initial film alleged that Paramount Pictures continued the project without renegotiating a fresh license. In the earlier dismissed case, the claimant was supported by renowned copyright termination expert Marc Toberoff.
In their statement, Paramount Pictures declared that the current lawsuit, similar to one previously filed by Mr. Toberoff in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Top Gun: Maverick, holds no validity. They further expressed confidence that a court will also dismiss this claim.
Gray is related to Singer and was brought in by Kosinski to pen the movie following their joint work on “Only the Brave“. His resume indicates he served as a scriptwriter for an episode of “Shantaram” and was Singer’s writing assistant during the making of “The International“. Primarily, Gray has been active as a digital artist, contributing to projects like “The Magicians, Defiance“, and “Two and a Half Men“.
In the court case, Gray asserts that Singer, who was employed by Paramount Pictures to write a movie screenplay on a work-for-hire basis in 2017, was asked by Kosinski to collaborate with him on the script. For the next five months, he participated actively in script meetings and wrote crucial scenes for significant action sequences, according to the lawsuit.
The opening scene and one other sequence are part of the storyline. In the initial scene, Maverick, portrayed by Tom Cruise, exceeds the capabilities of an advanced prototype fighter jet, shattering speed barriers until the plane malfunctions. In a subsequent sequence, he skillfully outwits top-tier pilots during a training drill, leading to a climactic dogfight with a novice pilot. The lawsuit contains evidence in the form of time-stamped files and emails, which verify the writer’s creation of these scenes.
Gray contends that he should be recognized as a co-writer of the screenplay because he didn’t sign a ‘work-for-hire’ agreement, which typically grants the production company the copyright to a script and controls their employment relationship with a writer. Unlike other writers for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, such as Singer, Kruger, McQuarrie, Craig, and Mark, Gray claims he didn’t have any written agreement regarding his contributions to the film.
In simpler terms, Gray is asking the court to mandate that he gets screenplay credit moving forward, be included in marketing efforts for the film, and receive a portion of the profits. If the court refuses this request, he plans to file a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and request unspecified compensation.
Read More
- Ludus promo codes (April 2025)
- Cookie Run Kingdom: Shadow Milk Cookie Toppings and Beascuits guide
- ZEREBRO PREDICTION. ZEREBRO cryptocurrency
- Mini Heroes Magic Throne tier list
- DEEP PREDICTION. DEEP cryptocurrency
- Grimguard Tactics tier list – Ranking the main classes
- Fortress Saga tier list – Ranking every hero
- Seven Deadly Sins Idle tier list and a reroll guide
- Maiden Academy tier list
- Best teams for Seven Deadly Sins Idle
2025-04-28 21:24