Tyler Perry is being sued for allegedly stealing the inspiration for his movie “Good Deeds” released in February 2012. Terri Donald, an author who goes by the pseudonym TLO Red’ness, wrote a book entitled “Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruit” in 2007. Donald claims that the plot of Perry’s 2012 movie closely resembles the storyline outlined in her book. The plot in the book centered more on the female lead (played by Gabrielle Union); while the movie had more of a focus on the male lead (played by Tyler Perry).
With all the books that are written and published each year, it might seem a bit over-zealous for Donald to presume that plot of her book was the sole inspiration for the movie “Good Deeds.” However, the author alleges that she sent a copy of her book to Perry’s company before production of the movie began. As a result, she is suing for $225,000 and is asking for her name to be added to opening and closing credits. In addition, Donald’s lawyer is asking for an account of the revenue made from the movie; which suggests that she will amend her suit to ask for royalties or a larger sum than the initial $225,000 requested.
This isn’t the first time an author has sued a production company for allegedly stealing a storyline. The screen writers, producers and Warner Brothers studio were all named in the copyright infringement lawsuit of the famous trilogy series “The Matrix.” While contrary reports have circulated about the outcome of that suit, as of 2012 the plaintiff Sophia Stewart has not received any settlement regarding her suit. In fact, her case was dismissed after she failed to show up for a hearing years earlier.
If Terri Donald plans to prove that her work is the inspiration for the movie “Good Deeds,” she will need to do more than just show up in court. If she can provide specific details from her book that closely resemble scenes that took place in the movie, and she can prove that someone else’s work was not the inspiration for the events of the movie, then she may have a shot at winning the case.
Tyler Perry has not yet publicly commented on the suit.
