Top 20 Movie Scenes That Led to HUGE Lawsuits

- Floating Islands
- The Reveal of the Killer
- The Assault of Princess Natasha
- Driving Through the Mall
- Alice On the Bike
- Rocky vs. Apollo
- Waking Up with Tysons Tattoo
- A Map
- Hedley Lamarr
- George Arrives at the House
- The Devil's Advocate (1997)
- Tears of the Sun (2003)
- American Hustle (2012)
- Die Hard 2 (1990)
- Couples Retreat (2009)
- 12 Monkeys (1995)
- Romeo and Juliet (1968)
- Borat (2006)
- The Interview (2014)
- Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
#20: Floating Islands
Avatar (2009)
Say what you will about the movie itself, but seeing Avatar on the big screen was a borderline religious experience in 2009. Many people remember seeing Pandora for the first time, the floating islands and cascading waterfalls burned into memories the world over. Everyone loved it. Everyone but Roger Dean. Dean is a renowned artist who designs album covers, and his work is noted for featuring fantastic alien landscapes similar to Avatar. In fact, he sued James Cameron for plagiarism, claiming that the director had copied fourteen of his original works, including Floating Jungle. He sought damages of $50 million, but a judge ultimately dismissed the case.
#19: The Reveal of the Killer
Happy Death Day (2017)
A fun movie that brings Groundhog Day into the slasher genre, Happy Death Day sees Tree Gelbman reliving the day of her murder over and over again. She first encounters her killer in a tunnel, and viewers are quick to notice that theyre wearing a baby mask. Most people were probably creeped out, maybe a little bemused. But not Johnson Berticelli. He is the creator of King Cake Baby, the official mascot of the New Orleans Pelicans. Perhaps not coincidentally, the film also happens to take place in New Orleans. Berticelli sued the filmmakers for copyright infringement and sought to receive half of the movies profits. In 2021, Universal City Studios reached a private settlement with Berticelli, the details of which were not released.
#18: The Assault of Princess Natasha
Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
Turns out, you cant just make up facts and present it as history. Theres one scene in the movie where Rasputin overpowers Princess Natasha and puts her into a trance. Its also heavily implied that he overcomes her sexually. Natasha is modeled after Princess Irina Alexandrovna, whose husband, Prince Felix, helped murder Rasputin in 1916. In real life, Princess Irina was never overcome by Rasputin, and attorney Fanny Holtzmann filed a libel lawsuit against the studio on her behalf. She ultimately won an out-of-court settlement with MGM and received $127,000 in an English court. The offensive scene was also removed from future releases, and the lawsuit gave rise to the all persons fictitious disclaimer that is often seen at the end of movies.
#17: Driving Through the Mall
The Blues Brothers (1980)
In one of the movies most iconic sequences, Jake and Elwood engage the police in a car chase through the Dixie Square Mall. This was a very short-lived mall in Chicago, opening in 1966 and closing just twelve years later in 1978. The empty mall was then converted into a temporary school for the Harvey-Dixmoor School District. It was still serving as such when John Landis rented the building for filming. The cars caused a considerable amount of damage inside the mall - damage that was never fixed or paid for. As such, the school district sued Universal Pictures for damages. However, they too left the mall soon after, and it lay abandoned until 2012 when it was finally demolished.
#16: Alice On the Bike
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
One of the most catastrophic on-set injuries in movie history occurred while filming Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Milla Jovovichs stunt double Olivia Jackson was driving a motorcycle at high speeds without a helmet when she collided with a camera crane. Jackson was in a coma for two weeks and suffered a litany of horrific injuries, including a crushed face, a twisted spine, and a paralyzed left arm that was eventually amputated. Jackson sued the producers, claiming that the stunt was negligently planned and that they lied to her about medical insurance that didnt actually exist. The court ruled in favor of Jackson, and she was awarded an undisclosed settlement.
#15: Rocky vs. Apollo
Rocky (1976)
It was March 24, 1975, and the legendary Muhammad Ali was fighting underdog Chuck Wepner. Nobody expected Wepner to do well, but he nearly went the distance, finally being TKOd in the fifteenth and final round. Even more incredible, Wepner actually managed to knock down Ali - one of only four times that Ali had been knocked down in his entire career. Sound familiar? Sylvester Stallone watched the fight on TV and, believing that it was an incredible triumph of the human spirit, wrote Rocky immediately after. Fast forward to 2003 when Wepner sued Stallone, claiming that he never received official credit or recognition for inspiring the famous movie. Unlike the boxing match, he won the lawsuit, receiving an undisclosed amount.
#14: Waking Up with Tysons Tattoo
The Hangover Part II (2011)
Can you copyright a tattoo? That was the main question behind this lawsuit. In one of the movies famous scenes, Stu wakes up and discovers that he now has Mike Tysons iconic face tattoo. He then goes the entire rest of the movie with the tattoo on his face. This did not sit well with S. Victor Whitmill, who designed Tysons tattoo. He filed a copyright lawsuit against Warner Bros., and the studio in turn defended themselves, arguing that tattoos do not fall under copyright law. The judge hilariously called this defense silly and affirmed that, yes, tattoos do in fact fall under copyright, being considered original works of art. They were forced to settle with Whitmill for an undisclosed amount.
#13: A Map
Lay the Favorite (2012)
Have you ever heard of this movie? Probably not, considering it was ravaged by critics and made peanuts at the box office. In the background of an office is a watercolor map of Curaçao, which was painted by artist and mapmaker Victor Baker. The map was used without Bakers permission, so he sued Amazon, Netflix, and Random House Films. He also claims that the map plays a key role in the plot, as the characters establish a legal gambling operation in Curaçao to bypass American financial laws. Baker sued the streamers and the studio for $150,000 - not a huge sum by any means, but about seven times what the movie made at the domestic box office.
#12: Hedley Lamarr
Blazing Saddles (1974)
One of the primary villains of this legendary comedy is Hedley Lamarr, a crooked attorney general who wishes to ruin the town of Rock Ridge. His name is a play on Hedy Lamarr, an actress who enjoyed great success in the 1940s. Unfortunately, Lamarr wasnt very pleased with her name being used as the source of a running joke, claiming that it was an invasion of her privacy. So she sued Warner Bros. for $100,000 - about $700,000 when adjusted for inflation. Writer-director Mel Brooks found it an honor to be sued by Lamarr, and neither he nor Warner Bros. found the lawsuit worth fighting, so they simply settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
#11: George Arrives at the House
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
This movie set a huge precedent for the future of film. Turns out, you cant just model one actor after another and pretend that its them. Crispin Glover refused to return for Back to the Future Part II, citing an insulting salary and a disagreement around the first movies consumerist ending. Robert Zemeckis got around that by hiring another actor named Jeffrey Weissman and dressing him up as Glover with the use of facial prosthetics. Glover was irate and sued the producers, claiming that they had no right to use his likeness. He was right, and the parties settled out of court. There is now a legal clause in the Screen Actors Guild forbidding filmmakers from doing this again.
#10: The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Heres a warning to all future filmmakers - be really careful that your designs werent accidentally lifted from something else. When The Devils Advocate was released in 1997, sculptor Frederick Hart noticed that the sculpture in Miltons apartment looked suspiciously like his Ex Nihilo, which is adorned on Washingtons Episcopal National Cathedral. Both Hart and the Cathedral sued Warner Bros., and a judge claimed they had a substantial likelihood of winning the case. Warner Bros. settled with the plaintiffs before it went to trial, and they were forced to make digital edits before the movie could be released for sale. Copies that were already produced for rental were adorned with a sticker claiming that there was no relation between the movie sculpture and Harts work.
#9: Tears of the Sun (2003)
This Bruce Willis-led action thriller concerns a Navy SEAL team sent to rescue a United States citizen from the jungles of Nigeria. Action movies are tricky to film, owing to all the dangerous stunts and pyrotechnics, and sometimes things go wrong. In this case, things went wrong for the movies star. Willis was reportedly hit in the head by an unidentified projectile during one of the movies action scenes, resulting in extreme mental, physical and emotional pain. He sought financial damages and compensation, as he was required to employ physicians and other medical personnel to treat his unspecified injury. He claimed that the special effects team acted negligently and exposed the crew to ultrahazardous activity.
#8: American Hustle (2012)
This movie concerns a historic FBI sting operation, so its not really surprising that it was pegged with a lawsuit. What is surprising is that it has nothing to do with the FBI - merely, it concerns a microwave. Jennifer Lawrences Rosalyn claims that she read in a Paul Brodeur article that microwaves zap food of their nutrition. Brodeur is a real figure and has written extensively about microwave radiation, but he never claimed that they suck nutrition from food. He told the court as much in his lawsuit, claiming that the movie defamed and portrayed him as a fear-monger. However, a California appeals court stated that the movie was a farce and that audiences were led to mistrust anything that the unhinged Rosalyn claimed.
#7: Die Hard 2 (1990)
Product placement is all too common in blockbuster movies. As the budget for Die Hard 2 increased, Fox and Black & Decker reached an agreement - the power tool manufacturer would fork over $20,000 in exchange for John McClane using their latest tool, the Univolt cordless drill, on screen. The company was excited about the promotion and even created a tie-in marketing campaign around the tool. However, the scene was cut from the final edit without Black & Deckers permission, and the company was cheesed. They sought $150,000 in damages and won, with 20th Century Fox settling out of court. But the best part about this story? Black & Decker never actually paid the agreed-upon $20,000.
#6: Couples Retreat (2009)
This romantic comedy stars Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis as unhappy high school sweethearts Joey and Lucy Tanzini. In one scene, Joey enjoys himself to an old photo of model Irina Krupnik. Krupnik had previously sold the photo to a stock image company, but she never intended it to be used in the movies context. As per her lawyer, [Krupnick] did not contemplate, intend, or consent to the use of her photograph or likeness in a quasi-pornographic context. She proceeded to launch a defamation suit and demanded $10 million in compensation. But by signing away the rights to the photo, Krupnik lost the ability to dictate how it was used. A judge threw out the case, and Krupnick never saw a dime.
#5: 12 Monkeys (1995)
Apparently Bruce Willis is a living, breathing lawsuit magnet! In the very beginning of 12 Monkeys, Williss James Cole is interrogated on an elevated chair while some weird, futuristic sphere probes him for weakness. Like The Devils Advocate, this room and set up bore striking similarities to another piece of work - this one being a close approximation of architect Lebbeus Woods Neomechanical Tower (Upper) Chamber. And, just as The Devils Advocate would have gone had Warner Bros. not settled, Woods won the case. He was awarded a high six-figure settlement from Universal Pictures in exchange for his works use in the film, and the end credits claim that the interrogation room was inspired by the architectural work of Lebbeus Woods.
#4: Romeo and Juliet (1968)
This classic adaptation of one of literatures greatest love stories turned out to be more tragic than expected. Director Franco Zeffirelli had initially promised the underage leads, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, that they would wear flesh-colored undergarments during their love scene. However, just before shooting, he convinced them to go nude with only body makeup, falsely assuring them their private parts would not be visible. Although Hussey initially defended the nude scene in 2018, her stance changed five years later. She and Whiting sued Paramount Pictures for $500 million, claiming the incident caused them emotional damage. The lawsuit was dismissed, partly due to the statute of limitations, but its still troubling that they were exploited in such a manner.
#3: Borat (2006)
Is this the most sued movie ever? Lets go through the list! The villagers of Glod, Romania sued, claiming that the movie made them look incestuous. A South Carolina resident claimed that Sacha Baron Cohen made crude comments about him. Driving instructor Michael Psenicska sued over use of his image in promotional material. The man who runs away from Borat in New York sued over public ridicule... and humiliation. Perhaps the most notorious scene to cause a lawsuit however came when two of the frat brothers Borat met in South Carolina launched a defamation lawsuit. On top of this, Singer Esma Redepova sued over use of her song, even though the filmmakers had received permission. Funnily enough, this was the only lawsuit to kind-of win, as she had not been notified by her production house. She was awarded just 26,000 of her 800,000 suit.
#2: The Interview (2014)
It was perhaps inevitable that a satirical film from Seth Rogan would stir some controversy. Sure enough, The Interview contained a graphic death scene of Kim Jong-un that led to intimidating threats from the North Korean government. But as it turned out, the real issue arose from a much more innocuous detail. After hackers threatened to attack theaters that showed the movie, the studio opted for streaming. Kernel Films, the stealth startup handling the release, hired another company, Neustar, to ensure the streaming was secure. According to Neustar, though, Kernel never paid their $1.1 million fee, so they dragged them to court for it. In the end, The Interview caused a lot more trouble than it was worth.
#1: Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Much like an actual episode of the Twilight Zone series, its movie adaptation became linked to a real-life tragedy. In the films Time Out segment, Vic Morrow plays a bigoted man who is sent back in time to experience life on the receiving end of prejudice. The script initially featured Morrows character rescuing two children during the Vietnam War. However, the young actors portraying the children were hired illegally and made to work at night. Tragically, while filming a scene involving a helicopter, Morrow and the children were killed when the aircraft crashed. Civil and criminal lawsuits were filed, with director John Landis and others being tried and ultimately acquitted of manslaughter. The bitter legal battles eventually led to stricter safety regulations in the industry.
What do you make of these lawsuits? Frivolous, or justified? Let us know in the comments below!