The author’s family whose article inspired Tom Cruise’s 1986 film Top Gun sued Paramount Pictures on Monday for copyright infringement for this year’s highly successful Top Gun sequel: Maverick.
According to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Paramount Global’s unit was unable to recover the rights to the 1983 article by Ehud Yonay’s “Top Guns,” which appeared in a 1983 issue of California Magazine. of his family before releasing the “derivative” sequel. .
Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, who live in Israel and are Ehud’s widow and son, respectively, said Paramount deliberately ignored that the copyright was returned to them in January 2020, “staining their noses.” in federal copyright law. Paramount did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including some benefits of Top Gun: Maverick, and preventing Paramount from distributing the film or more sequels.
Top Gun: Maverick is the biggest box office hit this year, grossing $ 291 million (£ 232 million) in North America and $ 548.6 million (£ 438 million) worldwide in its first 10 days of release.
According to Deadline, a Paramount spokesman responded: “These statements have no merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously.”