Producers of the upcoming film, "Barbershop: The Next Cut," faces a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a New York playwright. The plaintiff is seeking a $20 million in damages and wants to prevent the launching of the said comedy film on theaters.
Writer and movie director, Ronald Dickerson, who also known as JD Lawrence named the Time Warner Inc, Warner Brothers Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc and Showtime Networks Inc. as defendants on his lawsuit, Reuters reported.
The suit which was filed in a Manhattan District Court alleges, "Barbershop: The Next Cut" has an overwhelming similarities to a 1998-2001 wirtten stage play, titled, "Scissors" when it comes to its story, characters, theme and situation. Dickerson is seeks an order from the court to prevent the release of the movie in theaters due to the issues.
The court filing on Monday is also seeking $20 million in damages, according to the Daily Mail. The comedy film which was directed by Malcolm D Lee and scheduled to be release on April 15 in theaters. It is also the third series of the said movie.
"Barbershop: The Next Cut," centers a Chicago barbershop in black neighborhood and a beauty salon in Atlanta. It also shows the daily lives of their employees, problems include gangs and gentrification. The film main cast stars Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve and Nicki Minaj. The latest film is also expected to draw more fans for the film series. The makers of the movies have not yet issued their official statement to the said lawsuit, Rollingout reported.
Dickerson wrote "Scissors" stage play, which has toured on different cities from the year 1998 to 2001. Popularly known as JD Lawrence, he was also named as the "The King of Dramedy." His other famous works were Clean Up Woman(2012), The Clean Up Woman (2010) and Fire Fighter Fitness.
