Indie Atlanta filmmakers sue over hit 'Drumline'
Indie Atlanta filmmakers sue over hit 'Drumline'
Rodney Ho - Staff
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
The Atlanta makers of an independent film about black college marching bands filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday seeking damages of at least $150 million against the studio that financed and distributed the 2002 hit movie "Drumline."
Claiming that ideas from their film "Pay the Price" were stolen, media producer Darryl Lassiter and gospel singer David Gough filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York against 20th Century Fox and Fox Entertainment Group.
A Fox spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon the company hasn't officially been served and had no comment.
Lassiter wrote a screenplay in 1992 about his days at Alabama State University as the Marching Hornets' trumpet section leader and produced his $200,000 film in 2000.
Gough, the film's sole funder, couldn't secure a distribution deal, but "Pay the Price" was released on video last year about the same time as "Drumline" hit the theaters starring Nick Cannon as a rebel drummer. Produced by Atlanta music mogul Dallas Austin for $20 million, "Drumline" pulled in $54 million in domestic box office grosses. A sequel is reportedly in the works.
Lassiter said he met an assistant to Austin in 2000, proposing Austin help finance his film's distribution and even asked to direct "Drumline." He said he never heard back.
Austin, a drummer in his high school marching band, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday but told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last December that he came up with the "Drumline" idea in the early 1990s. He said he never saw "Pay the Price" before producing "Drumline."
"I'm not going to sit and say that this guy didn't do his film or didn't have the idea," Austin said, "but it's one of those topics like an army or football film. A lot of people experienced it. It's not a surprise that other people thought of this."
Lassiter has hired Willie Gary, a well-known Florida corporate litigator, on contingency. At a Tuesday news conference at the downtown Marriott Marquis, Gary played a 40-minute videotape comparing 40 scenes from the two films.
Both films are based in Atlanta, focusing on freshmen students struggling to join a black college marching band. Both used Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College bands. Both featured band directors who loved classical music. Both ended in a battle of the bands competition. "Drumline" centered its film on one character while "Pay the Price" was more an ensemble piece.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Indie Atlanta filmmakers sue over hit 'Drumline'
Rodney Ho - Staff
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
The Atlanta makers of an independent film about black college marching bands filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday seeking damages of at least $150 million against the studio that financed and distributed the 2002 hit movie "Drumline."
Claiming that ideas from their film "Pay the Price" were stolen, media producer Darryl Lassiter and gospel singer David Gough filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York against 20th Century Fox and Fox Entertainment Group.
A Fox spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon the company hasn't officially been served and had no comment.
Lassiter wrote a screenplay in 1992 about his days at Alabama State University as the Marching Hornets' trumpet section leader and produced his $200,000 film in 2000.
Gough, the film's sole funder, couldn't secure a distribution deal, but "Pay the Price" was released on video last year about the same time as "Drumline" hit the theaters starring Nick Cannon as a rebel drummer. Produced by Atlanta music mogul Dallas Austin for $20 million, "Drumline" pulled in $54 million in domestic box office grosses. A sequel is reportedly in the works.
Lassiter said he met an assistant to Austin in 2000, proposing Austin help finance his film's distribution and even asked to direct "Drumline." He said he never heard back.
Austin, a drummer in his high school marching band, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday but told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last December that he came up with the "Drumline" idea in the early 1990s. He said he never saw "Pay the Price" before producing "Drumline."
"I'm not going to sit and say that this guy didn't do his film or didn't have the idea," Austin said, "but it's one of those topics like an army or football film. A lot of people experienced it. It's not a surprise that other people thought of this."
Lassiter has hired Willie Gary, a well-known Florida corporate litigator, on contingency. At a Tuesday news conference at the downtown Marriott Marquis, Gary played a 40-minute videotape comparing 40 scenes from the two films.
Both films are based in Atlanta, focusing on freshmen students struggling to join a black college marching band. Both used Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College bands. Both featured band directors who loved classical music. Both ended in a battle of the bands competition. "Drumline" centered its film on one character while "Pay the Price" was more an ensemble piece.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution