Snatch creator Guy Ritchie has found himself in the midst of a lawsuit, but he’s not backing down. According to Variety, Ritchie recently filed a response to the claims that he copied ideas for his film The Gentlemen from a friend and writer. The filing, submitted to London’s High Court, denies that the sequel to his movie RocknRolla was based on his friend Mickey de Hara’s life or that he hired him to write the sequel. Ritchie’s defense filing was delayed to allow for negotiations and a possible settlement out of court.
De Hara’s claim, which surfaced several months ago, alleges that Ritchie used his script for the sequel and incorporated elements from his own life into The Gentlemen. De Hara argues that the film copies characters and specific plot points that were originally intended for the sequel. The focus of his lawsuit is on the overlapping plot points.
Ritchie’s claim counters that he did pay de Hara £25,000 ($31,900) in 2006 for his input and to serve as a sounding board while he was writing the RocknRolla sequel. However, Ritchie emphasizes that the sequel was never made because he believed the era of gangster films had passed. He also mentions discussions about turning RocknRolla into a trilogy, but no agreement was reached with de Hara or another writer, Martin Askew.
While Ritchie admits to using some elements from the RocknRolla sequel’s screenplay while writing The Gentlemen, he denies de Hara’s claim that the latter is a reproduction of a substantial part of the former.
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, and Jeremy Strong, The Gentlemen follows an American expat’s attempt to sell his lucrative marijuana empire in London. The film takes a similar approach to Ritchie’s previous action-comedy movies. RocknRolla, released a decade earlier, delves into the challenges faced by a mob boss.
The case is ongoing, and Variety was the first to report on the matter.
