Army Times: Soldier sues, says Hurt Locker based on him

[mod mom]

Soldier sues, says Hurt Locker based on him
By Julie Hinds and David Ashenfelter - Detroit Free Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 6, 2010 8:30:03 EST

With the 82nd Academy Awards days away, a 38-year-old Army bomb expert said Tuesday that he’s hurt that Hollywood producers cut him out of a front-running best picture nominee — “The Hurt Locker” — that allegedly was based on his exploits in Iraq.

“They never offered anything,” said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver, of Clarksville, Tenn., at a 45-minute news conference at the law office of Geoffrey Fieger in Southfield, Mich.

Fieger filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit on Sarver’s behalf late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. Fieger said he waited until then to file the suit so it wouldn’t hurt the movie’s chances for winning an Academy Award.

The Iraq war drama about a bomb-defusing squad is nominated for nine Oscars.

Fieger said he and attorney Todd Weglarz had been negotiating for several months to no avail.

“Hollywood has made billions exploiting veterans,” Fieger said, adding that it’s going to end now.

-snip
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/03/gns_hurt_locker_lawsuit_030310/


Sarver says Will James, the film's main character (portrayed by Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner), is based on him and that James' call signal, Blaster One, was uniquely his during his tours of duty, Fieger said. Sarver also says he coined the phrase The Hurt Locker.

Fieger said Boal's embedded reporting — over 30 days in 2004 — led to an article the following year in Playboy magazine about Sarver, and that the story later was adapted by Boal forThe Hurt Locker screenplay.

"If you do take the time to read (the Playboy article) and if you then go and view The Hurt Locker, you will see — and there will be no question in your mind — that Blaster One, Sgt. Sarver, is the character in The Hurt Lockercalled Will James," Fieger told reporters at his office in Southfield. "The caveat in the movie that the movie is fictional and all the characters portrayed in the movie are fictional is a fictional statement in and of itself."

-snip
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-03-03-hurt-locker-lawsuit_N.htm

[slampoet]

1. Nothign will come of this. It is just pre-oscar negative campaigning.

Bill Maher did a segment about how this happens before the Oscar voting every year.

[mod mom]

2. It sounds pretty shitty to me. If I the screen writer I'd give credit where due and

compensate this soldier to subdue the bad press. I haven't seen the film, but after hearing this I won't.

[Captain Hilts]

3. It's a non-starter. nt

[thereismore]

4. My gut tells me the soldier is right and he deserves credit and compensation.

Making movies and getting money, awards and fame, about a war that is ongoing is kind of sick and perverted anyway.

[panzerfaust]

5. He says the screenwriter was embeddd with his 3-man unit

... and basically just stole his story - basing the protagonist on the MSGT who is filing suit.

This may well be, and I have not the least amount of trouble believing it.

However, the MSGT also claims to have coined the term "Hurt Locker" - a phrase, like "Shit Locker" well known to me from the USN/USMC in the 1960s, so perhaps the MSGT is just trying to be paid to shut up and go away?

No idea.

[Swede]

6. The term "hurt locker" has been used for decades.

He's delusional and or out for money.

[FourScore]

7. This sounds compelling.

I had already heard about this. Many of these types of lawsuits are bogus; or if they are real, have no chance against the Hollywood legal machine. This time I'm not so sure. It sounds like these guys have a good case.

[Javaman]

8. This case has as much hope as a fart in the wind.

The filmmaker will make the argument that the main character is based on an an amalgamation of characters. Trying pin down a particular character being based on a particular person, especially when the names aren't similar, is like herding cats.

These law suits pop up from time to time.

The soldier is just trying to get a payday.

If he was so concerned, he should have sued during production.

But alas, he chooses this time to launch his transparent lawsuit.

It will probably be thrown out.

He, sadly, will be out a chunk of dough to some half assed lawyer who talked him into this bullshit suit.

There are roughly 6 major firms that handle all of these types of lawsuits in the entertainment field. If this had merit, there would be more of a quiet dealing than something released in the papers.

They only time these ever hit the papers is for two reasons, one, the people being sued vocally contest it, or the person wanting to sue, hires a hack who's trying to make a name for themselves.

Entertainment law is not for the faint of heart.