Last year, we learned that unofficial Toronto ambassador (and bling and Bitcoin enthusiast) Drake was executive producing a documentary on Black hockey players alongside LeBron James, but it seems like the rapper and NBA star have gotten into a bit of hot water over Black Ice.
In a new $10-million lawsuit filing, the pair have been accused of stealing the rights to produce a film about Canada's Coloured Hockey League by former NBA Players Association head Billy Hunter.
As per The New York Post, Hunter alleges he owns the sole legal film rights, claiming in the suit that Drake and James's respective production companies went behind his back and signed a deal with George and Darril Frosty, who co-authored the book the documentary is based on, Black Ice: The Lost History of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925.
"While the defendants LeBron James, Drake and Maverick Carter [LeBron's business partner] are internationally known and renowned in their respective fields of basketball and music, it does not afford them the right to steal another's intellectual property," reads the lawsuit — filed by Hunter's attorney, Larry Hutcher — obtained by the publication.
Hunter claims he was given exclusive movie rights to the book from the Frostys after paying them a combined $265,000. He confronted the authors after their deal with James and Drake, and apparently, they said that it didn't violate their agreement — because it's a documentary, not a movie. (Somebody get Harry Styles on the line to explain exactly what a movie is to all parties, STAT.)
"A documentary is still a 'motion picture' and an 'audiovisual adaptation' and any claim to the contrary is absurd and made in bad faith," Hutcher said on Hunter's behalf. The complainant is seeking $10 million in damages, as well as a portion of the profits from the doc.
On behalf of himself and his brother, Darril Fosty deemed the suit "unwarranted and frivolous," and said that they will issue an official response through their legal team. Representation for Drake, James and their firms had no immediate comment.
Black Ice is slated to premiere at TIFF this Saturday (September 10) at Roy Thomson Hall.
In a new $10-million lawsuit filing, the pair have been accused of stealing the rights to produce a film about Canada's Coloured Hockey League by former NBA Players Association head Billy Hunter.
As per The New York Post, Hunter alleges he owns the sole legal film rights, claiming in the suit that Drake and James's respective production companies went behind his back and signed a deal with George and Darril Frosty, who co-authored the book the documentary is based on, Black Ice: The Lost History of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925.
"While the defendants LeBron James, Drake and Maverick Carter [LeBron's business partner] are internationally known and renowned in their respective fields of basketball and music, it does not afford them the right to steal another's intellectual property," reads the lawsuit — filed by Hunter's attorney, Larry Hutcher — obtained by the publication.
Hunter claims he was given exclusive movie rights to the book from the Frostys after paying them a combined $265,000. He confronted the authors after their deal with James and Drake, and apparently, they said that it didn't violate their agreement — because it's a documentary, not a movie. (Somebody get Harry Styles on the line to explain exactly what a movie is to all parties, STAT.)
"A documentary is still a 'motion picture' and an 'audiovisual adaptation' and any claim to the contrary is absurd and made in bad faith," Hutcher said on Hunter's behalf. The complainant is seeking $10 million in damages, as well as a portion of the profits from the doc.
On behalf of himself and his brother, Darril Fosty deemed the suit "unwarranted and frivolous," and said that they will issue an official response through their legal team. Representation for Drake, James and their firms had no immediate comment.
Black Ice is slated to premiere at TIFF this Saturday (September 10) at Roy Thomson Hall.
