In this day and age, it's almost too hard not to overshare on social media. Unfortunately for one up and coming actor, that lesson was learned the hard way.
New Jersey based Jarrett Alexander accused Sylvester Stallone among others of plagiarism following the release of 'Creed'; the latest film in the 'Rocky' series.
According to Alexander, 'Creed' bears a striking resemblance to a script of his own creation which he claims to have worked on between 2008 and 2011. Upon finishing the script, Alexander attempted to sell it on to Hollywood even going as far as creating a website and tweeting the URL to stars such as Dwayne Johnson, Carl Weathers, and of course, 'Rocky' protagonist, Sylvester Stallone. Friends of Alexander can also confirm that the script was sent out to various important Hollywood personalities, supporting the claim that Stallone was well aware of the amateur actor's work.
Despite the argument in favor of Jarrett Alexander and his claim of plagiarism, Judge Ronald S.W. Lew declared the accused as innocent, stating that there was insufficient evidence to suggest the whole idea had been taken from social media. As for the various tweets directed at Stallone & co, the judge pointed out how they were left without response.
And the controversy does not end there...
The whole ordeal could turn itself on Jarrett Alexander since it appears he used the copyrighted name 'Rocky' and characters in a trailer promoting his script.
The lawyer representing the accused (Robert Rotstein), believes Alexander's claim should have been rejected from the start, and now wants the latter to pay the related court fees.
