A lawsuit accusing Sylvester Stallone of copyright infringement has been formally dismissed, as the federal judge overseeing the case followed up on his earlier this year. Plaintiff Marcus Webb claimed that the script for Stallone’s 2010 blockbuster “The Expendables” was strikingly similar to his own, and requested damages from the film’s co-writer and director.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff had dismissed the case in June, but did not release a full written decision until Thursday, Dec. 27. Webb marked 20 similarities between his screenplay “The Cordoba Caper” and “The Expendables,” which both apparently included a villain named General Garza, and took place in Latin America. Stallone’s lawyers countered with information claiming that “The Expendables” co-writer David Callaham had already written three drafts before Webb completed his script, and that there was no hard evidence that either writer had seen the “Cordoba Caper” screenplay.
Rakoff sided with Stallone, recognizing the screenplays as distinctly different. “The court has carefully examined the entire litany of plaintiff’s proffered ‘striking similarities’ and finds none of them remotely striking or legally sufficient,” Rakoff wrote. “These are two very different screenplays built on a familiar theme: mercenaries taking on a Latin American dictator.”
“The Expendables” made about $274 million in its box office run, and spawned an even more successful sequel over the summer. Along with Stallone, the series stars older action stars including Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Chuck Norris and Terry Crews.
