Legal Drama: Movies That Were Subject to Lawsuits

Steel Magnolias is the latest film subject to legal action.

Steel Magnolias - Movies are meant to be entertainment for the masses, but sometimes result in vicious lawsuits that almost kept some of our favorite films out of theaters. The long-awaited remake of Steel Magnolias, starring Queen Latifah, is under attack by a producer for the original film who claims she was not consulted about the remake. She's asking a judge to stop the film's October 7 release unless she's paid a lump cash sum and a share of the profits.   (Photo: TriStar Pictures)

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Steel Magnolias - Movies are meant to be entertainment for the masses, but sometimes result in vicious lawsuits that almost kept some of our favorite films out of theaters. The long-awaited remake of Steel Magnolias, starring Queen Latifah, is under attack by a producer for the original film who claims she was not consulted about the remake. She's asking a judge to stop the film's October 7 release unless she's paid a lump cash sum and a share of the profits.  (Photo: TriStar Pictures)

Book of Eli - Plagiarism is as rampant in Hollywood as Botox, but that doesn't fly with Georgia-based author Bridgette Burgin, who claims the story for this 2010 thriller was lifted from her unpublished manuscript after she submitted it for a writing competition. The case is still pending.  (Photo: Silver Pictures) 

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Book of Eli - Plagiarism is as rampant in Hollywood as Botox, but that doesn't fly with Georgia-based author Bridgette Burgin, who claims the story for this 2010 thriller was lifted from her unpublished manuscript after she submitted it for a writing competition. The case is still pending. (Photo: Silver Pictures) 

The Matrix - It's a tale as mind-bending as the matrix itself. For years, the media had championed the case of a middle-aged Black woman, Sophia Stewart, who claimed her registered manuscript is the basis for the blockbuster sci-fi film franchise. After a report floated that Stewart had won and been awarded $2.5 billion, which turned out to be false, the facts (or lack thereof) surfaced and Stewart's case started to seem more like a conspiracy theory aimed at big media.   (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

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The Matrix - It's a tale as mind-bending as the matrix itself. For years, the media had championed the case of a middle-aged Black woman, Sophia Stewart, who claimed her registered manuscript is the basis for the blockbuster sci-fi film franchise. After a report floated that Stewart had won and been awarded $2.5 billion, which turned out to be false, the facts (or lack thereof) surfaced and Stewart's case started to seem more like a conspiracy theory aimed at big media.  (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Avatar - Success has many fathers, and James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster is no exception. The billion-dollar franchise has been sued by not one, but three individuals hoping to get their hands on Pandora's bounty. One of the suits has already been thrown out by a judge, but the other two are pending.  (Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox) 

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Avatar - Success has many fathers, and James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster is no exception. The billion-dollar franchise has been sued by not one, but three individuals hoping to get their hands on Pandora's bounty. One of the suits has already been thrown out by a judge, but the other two are pending. (Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox) 

Madea Goes to Jail - You would think praising Jesus would be above copyright protection, but Tyler Perry knows better. The filmmaker was sued by the family of deceased gospel singer Bertha James for allegedly "lifting" an entire verse of James' song "When I Think of the Goodness of Jesus" in his film Madea Goes to Jail. You gotta wonder, WWJD?   (Photo: Courtesy Lionsgate)

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Madea Goes to Jail - You would think praising Jesus would be above copyright protection, but Tyler Perry knows better. The filmmaker was sued by the family of deceased gospel singer Bertha James for allegedly "lifting" an entire verse of James' song "When I Think of the Goodness of Jesus" in his film Madea Goes to Jail. You gotta wonder, WWJD?  (Photo: Courtesy Lionsgate)

Photo By Photo: Courtesy Lionsgate

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Men in Black 3: May 25 - In the highly anticipated third installment of the sci-fi comedic series, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) embark on a time travel mission so that J can partner with the younger version of K (Josh Brolin). They uncover a few secrets and save mankind. Also stars Nicole Scherzinger, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.(Photo: Courtesy Amblin Entertainment)

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Men in Black 3 - Movie lawsuits are usually aimed at writers, directors and other big money types, but an extra on the set of Men in Black 3 took her shot at the film's costume department. She claims she was outfitted in a "defective and dangerous" costume, which caused her "bodily harm" to the extent that it affected her work. Sounds like what A-list actresses have to deal with every day with those sky-high stilettos. (Photo: Courtesy Amblin Entertainment) 

Battleship: May 18 - Rihanna makes her feature film debut in the epic adventure movie that follows battles over the skies, seas and land in the ultimate fight for survival.(Photo: Courtesy Bluegrass Films)

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Battleship - It's usually the disgruntled little guy who sues a big studio stealing his idea, but in this case, it was Universal who wanted to know who sunk its Battleship. The studio sued indie production company the Asylum for putting out a straight-to-DVD "mockbuster" called American Battleship just four days after the big budget one hit theaters, which starred Rihanna. The studio blames the copycat for stealing its business. Battleship sunk at the box office.  (Photo: Universal Pictures)

Life (1999) - Bringing together two of the biggest names in comedy at the time, Murphy and Martin Lawrence (who got his break in Boomerang) starred as two men wrongly convicted of murder. The film was a box office smash with a soundtrack (featuring the Maxwell track "Fortunate") that went platinum. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

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Life - This lawsuit brought on by a screenwriter who claims the Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence comedy Life was plagiarized from his material seems fairly typical at the outset, but went off in a strange direction when the writer, Greg Hudson, who lost the suit, decided to exact his revenge by writing a book called Why I Sued Eddie Murphy. Despite his claims that it would be "the novel of the century," the book failed to make a splash. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

The Dark Knight Rises - After the shock lifted following the tragic shooting at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, the lawsuits began. Several of the survivors from the theater are suing studio Warner Bros., the theater chain and even the City of Aurora for the tragedy, which was declared to be a random act by a violent individual.   (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

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The Dark Knight Rises - After the shock lifted following the tragic shooting at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, the lawsuits began. Several of the survivors from the theater are suing studio Warner Bros., the theater chain and even the City of Aurora for the tragedy, which was declared to be a random act by a violent individual.  (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

10. Hangover Part II - "If there's such a thing as plagiarizing your own work, Hangover Part II is the best example. Also, for those folks who drink to get plastered, fist-pump at the club, splurge on a hooker and say racial epithets for fun — you've finally found your franchise!" - Read the Full Review(Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures)

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The Hangover 2 - It was the sight gag that cost Warner Bros. millions of dollars, and very nearly kept this raunchy comedy out of theaters. A tattoo artist, who created Mike Tyson's infamous face tattoo, sued the studio for not getting his permission to recreate it on the face of star Ed Helms. After a nail-biter of a court battle, the studio settled out of court and the film's release proceeded as planned. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Photo By Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures