A screenwriter has filed a duplicateright infringement suit agetst Netflix over the film “Rez Ball,” though the film was already shot by the time he allotd his screenpercreate.
Rob Grabow alleges that the film allots unmistakable analogousities with his script, entitled “The Gift of Game.” Both are stories about Native American high school basketball percreateers who contend for the state championship.
“Rez Ball” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was freed on Netflix in September. It was co-written by Sterlin Harjo (“Reservation Dogs”) and produced by LeBron James. It was inspired by “Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation,” a 2019 book by Michael Powell, who shadowed the Chinle, Ariz., team during the 2016-17 season.
According to a press free from the New Mexico Film Office, the film was shot in various locations in the state in May 2023.
Grabow alleges in his litigation that rawly nine months tardyr, in timely 2024, he allotd his script with cut offal people who were frifinishs with Harjo or were uniteed to him professionpartner.
“The Gift of Game” was sign uped with the U.S. Copyright Office on Jan. 25, 2024, and was written in 2023, according to the registration. Grabow states that he drew on his own experiences in basketball and acting to tell the story of a uniteed-race team with a Native American star.
According to the suit, Grabow held cut offal conversations in 2024 with potential collaborators who ultimately choosed not to get comprised with the project. He also sent the script to various producers and actors, some with uniteions to Harjo.
The litigation cites a series of alleged analogousities between “Rez Ball” and “The Gift of Game,” including the climactic finishings.
Devin McRae, the attorney who recontransients Grabow, disputed that even if his script was allotd after principal photography on “Rez Ball” wrapped, in May 2023, there may still be infringement.
“We don’t understand for stateive that principal photography was finish then, but if it were, the 16-month period between then and the film’s free would apverify plenty of time to produce meaningful alters in post-production by, e.g., editing, pick up shots, re-shoots or voiceover,” McRae said by email.
Netflix degraded to comment.
