Guy Ritchie better get his story together lock, stock and barrel because he’s now facing a lawsuit over 2019’s The Gentlemen, with its alleged original writer claiming the director took his ideas, tweaked them and repackaged them as his own.
Variety reports that writer Mickey De Hara is suing Guy Ritchie for breach of contract, claiming in the lawsuit that he was hired to pen a sequel to 2008’s RocknRolla to bring more authentic criminal elements to the story. After handing over the script in 2018, Ritchie had apparently moved on, telling De Hara that “the time of the gangster movie was over.” Jump just two years later and Guy Ritchie releases The Gentlemen.
De Hara alleges that Guy Ritchie used “unique aspects of the plot” of his screenplay for The Gentlemen, even lifting scenes directly, moments that could be seen as a bit too specific to not have been taken from the then-RocknRolla sequel script.
Based on this and other instances, De Hara said he asked Ritchie for a writing credit on the movie, to which the director texted, “I have a feeling that might be too late Mickey…I’ll try, but what I can do is get you a credit on something in the future. Let me see what I can do. Honestly, we did try to get hold of you.” As released, Guy Ritchie is officially the writer of The Gentlemen, with others that are not De Hara receiving “story by” credit.
Through the lawsuit against Guy Ritchie, De Hara is seeking “credit for his original work that has been used in The Gentlemen without his consent and without payment of the agreed remuneration.” This would include over $250,000. If De Hara is successful in his lawsuit, he may have an even bigger case, as not only would he have missed out on the movie, but the planned television series, which, as writer, he would receive credit and royalties on.
In the meantime, Guy Ritchie’s next feature, The Covenant, comes out on April 21st.
How do you think the lawsuit against Guy Ritchie over The Gentlemen will play out? If favored, should Mickey De Hara receive payments for the upcoming TV adaptation? Let us know your take in the comments section below!
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