Goldman's first big screen writing credit was for John Carpenter's fantasy martial arts film, Big Trouble in Little China, which he co-wrote with David Weinstein. Originally set in the old west, the script was later adapted by Carpenter's former classmate at USC film school, W. D. Richter, to take place in modern times.[1]
Goldman's next major writing job came in 1989 for the science fictionaction filmTotal Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Originally written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon, director Paul Verhoeven had problems with the third act and hired Goldman to help fix the screenplay. According to the director, the problem was that the last forty minutes of the film was one long action sequence and had abandoned the "mental theme." Working with Shusett, Goldman was able to reintroduce this mental theme by adding a plot twist where the audience discovers that Schwarzenegger's character, who is assumed to be a good guy, had his memory wiped and is actually a bad guy.[2]
Shortly after the success of Total Recall, Goldman and Shusett co-wrote a screen adaptation of Philip K. Dick's story, The Minority Report, to serve as a possible sequel to the film.[3] Although their screenplay was not used, the 2002 film, Minority Report, has a sequence set in a car factory, which was adapted from their early script. In the end, Goldman didn't receive a writing credit, but was listed as an executive producer of the film.[4]
By 2003, Goldman's career had slowed down, and manager Lenny Beckerman suggested that he adapt another Philip K. Dick story. Goldman had a good relationship with the Dick estate and was able to acquire the rights to his 1954 short story, The Golden Man.[5] The completed script was sold to Nicolas Cage's production company, Saturn Films, and eventually became the 2007 film, Next, directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Cage, along with Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel.[6] Unfortunately, the film was not a great critical or financial success.[7][8]
Lawsuit
On March 21, 2017, Goldman filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Disney over the film Zootopia. According to the suit, Goldman pitched a concept to Disney for a live-action film titled Looney, centered around an animator's creation of a TV cartoon called Zootopia. Goldman twice pitched the concept, featuring the same title, in 2000 and 2009. Disney began pre-production on a film titled 'Zootopia' — a term never having previously appeared in Disney's creative work — in 2013. Disney's film centered on a theme that the lawsuit alleged to be similar to Goldman's initial pitch, depicting a society of animals who could "pursue their dreams no matter their species."[9] Goldman's suit alleged that the company had reproduced the name, themes, settings, and character tropes offered in his pitch. Goldman also filed graphics of concept artwork of characters claimed to have been appropriated by Disney's character portrayals, including Nick Wilde, Flash, Chief Bogo, and Judy Hopps (appearing in Goldman's pitch as a squirrel modeled after his wife, Judith).
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald dismissed the infringement claims on November 8, 2017. As stated in the final review, "...Goldman's effort to make the plots of Looney and Zootopia seem similar were strained. All the purported similarities between the two works were themes, not plot points or sequences of events, that were too general to be protected by copyright law."[10][11]
Goldman appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where it affirmed the lower court's dismissal, finding that "[the Walt Disney Company] may have copied the idea of a zoo-utopia but their expression of that idea bears almost no resemblance to Plaintiff’s expression".[12][13]
References
^Muir, John Kenneth (2 March 2005). The Films of John Carpenter. McFarland. ISBN9780786422692.
^Duchovnay, Gerald (February 2012). Film Voices: Interviews from Post Script. SUNY Press. p. 186. ISBN9780791484753. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
^Ong, Germaine (10 May 2017). "MovieAxis". GameAxis Unwired. SPH Magazines (45): 77. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
^Loder, Kurt (8 November 2011). The Good, the Bad and the Godawful: 21st-Century Movie Reviews. St. Martin's Press. ISBN9781429938655. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
^Chad, Gervich (26 November 2013). How to Manage Your Agent: A Writer's Guide to Hollywood Representation. CRC Press. p. 178. ISBN9781136070945.
^Barsanti, Chris (22 September 2014). The Sci-Fi Movie Guide: The Universe of Film from Alien to Zardoz. Visible Ink Press. p. 264. ISBN9781578595334. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
gary, goldman, screenwriter, film, director, producer, with, same, name, gary, goldman, gary, leon, goldman, born, september, 1953, american, screenwriter, film, credits, include, trouble, little, china, 1986, total, recall, 1990, navy, seals, 1990, contents, . For film director and producer with same name see Gary Goldman Gary Leon Goldman born 17 September 1953 is an American screenwriter His film credits include Big Trouble in Little China 1986 Total Recall 1990 and Navy SEALs 1990 Contents 1 Career 2 Lawsuit 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditGoldman s first big screen writing credit was for John Carpenter s fantasy martial arts film Big Trouble in Little China which he co wrote with David Weinstein Originally set in the old west the script was later adapted by Carpenter s former classmate at USC film school W D Richter to take place in modern times 1 Goldman s next major writing job came in 1989 for the science fiction action film Total Recall starring Arnold Schwarzenegger Originally written by Ronald Shusett and Dan O Bannon director Paul Verhoeven had problems with the third act and hired Goldman to help fix the screenplay According to the director the problem was that the last forty minutes of the film was one long action sequence and had abandoned the mental theme Working with Shusett Goldman was able to reintroduce this mental theme by adding a plot twist where the audience discovers that Schwarzenegger s character who is assumed to be a good guy had his memory wiped and is actually a bad guy 2 Shortly after the success of Total Recall Goldman and Shusett co wrote a screen adaptation of Philip K Dick s story The Minority Report to serve as a possible sequel to the film 3 Although their screenplay was not used the 2002 film Minority Report has a sequence set in a car factory which was adapted from their early script In the end Goldman didn t receive a writing credit but was listed as an executive producer of the film 4 By 2003 Goldman s career had slowed down and manager Lenny Beckerman suggested that he adapt another Philip K Dick story Goldman had a good relationship with the Dick estate and was able to acquire the rights to his 1954 short story The Golden Man 5 The completed script was sold to Nicolas Cage s production company Saturn Films and eventually became the 2007 film Next directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Cage along with Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel 6 Unfortunately the film was not a great critical or financial success 7 8 Lawsuit EditOn March 21 2017 Goldman filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Disney over the film Zootopia According to the suit Goldman pitched a concept to Disney for a live action film titled Looney centered around an animator s creation of a TV cartoon called Zootopia Goldman twice pitched the concept featuring the same title in 2000 and 2009 Disney began pre production on a film titled Zootopia a term never having previously appeared in Disney s creative work in 2013 Disney s film centered on a theme that the lawsuit alleged to be similar to Goldman s initial pitch depicting a society of animals who could pursue their dreams no matter their species 9 Goldman s suit alleged that the company had reproduced the name themes settings and character tropes offered in his pitch Goldman also filed graphics of concept artwork of characters claimed to have been appropriated by Disney s character portrayals including Nick Wilde Flash Chief Bogo and Judy Hopps appearing in Goldman s pitch as a squirrel modeled after his wife Judith U S District Judge Michael W Fitzgerald dismissed the infringement claims on November 8 2017 As stated in the final review Goldman s effort to make the plots of Looney and Zootopia seem similar were strained All the purported similarities between the two works were themes not plot points or sequences of events that were too general to be protected by copyright law 10 11 Goldman appealed to the U S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit where it affirmed the lower court s dismissal finding that the Walt Disney Company may have copied the idea of a zoo utopia but their expression of that idea bears almost no resemblance to Plaintiff s expression 12 13 References Edit Muir John Kenneth 2 March 2005 The Films of John Carpenter McFarland ISBN 9780786422692 Duchovnay Gerald February 2012 Film Voices Interviews from Post Script SUNY Press p 186 ISBN 9780791484753 Retrieved 10 May 2017 Ong Germaine 10 May 2017 MovieAxis GameAxis Unwired SPH Magazines 45 77 Retrieved 10 May 2017 Loder Kurt 8 November 2011 The Good the Bad and the Godawful 21st Century Movie Reviews St Martin s Press ISBN 9781429938655 Retrieved 10 May 2017 Chad Gervich 26 November 2013 How to Manage Your Agent A Writer s Guide to Hollywood Representation CRC Press p 178 ISBN 9781136070945 Barsanti Chris 22 September 2014 The Sci Fi Movie Guide The Universe of Film from Alien to Zardoz Visible Ink Press p 264 ISBN 9781578595334 Retrieved 10 May 2017 Next retrieved 2017 10 12 Next 2007 Box Office Mojo www boxofficemojo com Retrieved 2017 10 12 News Service City Judge Mulls Fate of Writer s Suit Alleging Disney Stole His Animated Film Idea NBC Los Angeles Retrieved Oct 28 2021 Atkins Dorothy November 8 2017 Disney Sheds Writer s Copyright Suit Over Zootopia Law360 com Retrieved November 8 2017 Goldman is Gone Official Court Minutes Hollywood Docket Johnny Depp s Trial Delay WGA Judge Swap Zootopia Win The Hollywood Reporter 7 May 2019 https 1 next westlaw com Document I93b44f40672111e98440d2eaaa3f7dec View FullText html navigationPath Search 2Fv1 2Fresults 2Fnavigation 2Fi0ad62aef0000017cc57bfd6df1b0320a 3Fppcid 3D2b1d1fa419fc40d298fec6bc49e39a0b 26Nav 3DCASE 26fragmentIdentifier 3DI93b44f40672111e98440d2eaaa3f7dec 26parentRank 3D0 26startIndex 3D1 26contextData 3D 2528sc Search 2529 26transitionType 3DSearchItem amp listSource Search amp listPageSource baf980e990be67501aac7b20ddc2269c amp list CASE amp rank 3 amp sessionScopeId 86742d102ec2b13d402a2606cd016a5a9599079c6d89f93cfd3602d6bc110ff0 amp ppcid 2b1d1fa419fc40d298fec6bc49e39a0b amp originationContext Search 20Result amp transitionType SearchItem amp contextData 28sc Search 29 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help External links EditGary Goldman at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gary Goldman screenwriter amp oldid 1092566866, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
