MovieChat Forums > Lana Wachowski Discussion > He Stole the Matrix Idea - Court Case Se...

He Stole the Matrix Idea - Court Case Settled


BLACK WOMAN GETS PAID FOR THE MATRIX MOVIES

Quote
"Mother of the Matrix" Victorious By Martha Carter
>
> Monday, October 4th 2004 ended a six-year dispute involving
> Sophia Stewart, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver and Warner
> Brothers. Stewart's allegations, involving copyright infringement
> and racketeering, were received and acknowledged by the
> Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow residing.
>
> Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the
> past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I,
> II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will
> soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of
> Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels
> total over 2.5 billion dollars.
>
> Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she
> felt had been based on her manuscript, "The Third Eye,"
> copyrighted in 1981. In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted
> her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers,
> requesting new sci-fi works.
>
> According to court documentation, an FBI investigation
> discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from
> the original film, in attempt to avoid penalties for copyright
> infringement. The investigation also stated that "credible
> witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming
> that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work
> in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers." These
> witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that
> it had been "often used during preparation of the motion
> pictures." The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have
> Stewart's case dismissed, without success.
>
> Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which
> comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the
> Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix
> Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart.
> Some who have researched her history and writings are open to
> her story. Others are suspicious and mocking. "It doesn't bother
> me," said Stewart in a phone interview last week, "I always knew
> what was true."
>
> Some fans, are unaware of the case or they question its
> legitimacy, due to the fact that it has received little to no media
> coverage. Though the case was not made public until October of
> 2003, Stewart has her own explanation, as quoted at
> daghettotymz.com:
>
> "The reason you have not seen any of this in the media is
> because Warner Brothers parent company is AOL-Time
> Warner... this GIANT owns 95 percent of the media... let me give
> you a clue as to what they own in the media business... New
> York Times papers/magazines, LA Times papers/magazines,
> People Magazine, CNN news, Extra, Celebrity Justice,
> Entertainment Tonight, HBO, New Line Cinema, Dreamworks,
> Newsweek, Village Roadshow... many, many
> more!... They are not going to report on themselves. They have
> been surpressing my case for years..."
>
> Fans who have taken Stewart's allegations seriously, have found
> eerie mythological parallels, which seem significant in a case
> that revolves around the highly metaphorical and symbolic Matrix
> series. Sophia, the greek goddess of wisdom has been
> referenced many times in speculation about Stewart. In one
> book about the Goddess Sophia, it reads, "The black goddess
> is the mistress of web creation spun in her divine matrix."
>
> Although there have been outside implications as to racial
> injustice (Stewart is African American), she does not feel that
> this is the case. "This is all about the Benjamins," said Stewart.
> "It's not about money with me. It's about justice."
>
> Stewart's future plans involve a record label, entitled Popsilk
> Records, and a motion picture production company, All Eyez On
> Me, in reference to God. "I wrote The Third Eye to wake people
> up, to remind them why God put them here.
> There's more to life than money," said Stewart. "My whole
> message to the world is about God and good and about choice,
> about spirituality prevailing over 'technocracy'."
>
> If Stewart represents spirituality, then she truly has prevailed
> over the "technocracy" represented in both the Terminator and
> the Matrix, and now, ironically, by their supposed creators.
>
> Stewart is currently having discussions with CBS about a
> possible exclusive story and has several media engagements in
> the near future to nationally publicize her victory.

reply

This message has been deleted by an administrator

reply

This message has been deleted by an administrator

reply

This message has been deleted by an administrator

reply

This message has been deleted by an administrator

reply

This message has been deleted by an administrator

reply

Not actually the case though, apparently...

http://davidpoland.typepad.com/thehotblog/2004/12/more_on_termina.html
More on Terminator/Matrix v Sophia Stewart
On October 28, a student newspaper at Salt Lake Community College printed an erroneous story on Sophia Stewart's RICO lawsuit against The Wachowskis, Jim Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, Fox and Warner Bros and others.

Poorly reported by one Martha Carter, the story says that "Monday, October 4th 2004 ended a six-year dispute" and that Ms. Stewart has " will recover damages" and that "she will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars."

None of that is true. What is true is that on September 27, 2004, US District Court Judge Margaret M. Morrow made a preliminary ruling that the RICO element of the suit would not be thrown out on purely legal grounds, though some of the charges were dropped against Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox. There was no finding of fact emerging from this hearing and not even the glimmer of a trial that would find guilt or innocence.

The story ran on the community college website, was picked up by Manhunt.com, which bills itself as "The digital resource for blazin' urban news." Eventually their story was passed to and published by Ain't It Cool News. By the time I was alerted to the posting and went to AICN, the link was gone. Presumably, someone explained just how inaccurate the story was and AICN did the responsible thing at that point.

The link also provides links to the actual court proceedings.

reply

Doesn't anyone think that it's funny that this story doesn't get more press? I mean, this is a freaking huge story here. Hmmm, I would why it's not being reported...? Could it be the media giant that owns Warner Bros, the same studio that put out The Matrix, is suppressing it??

reply

Eh, there's nothing funny about it. The news is fake/erroneous. See here:

http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2004/12/urban-legends.asp

and here

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/matrix.asp

It's just another case of sloppy journalism. The reason it isn't being reported or reprinted in more credible news agencies like the New York Times or MSNBC is because they probably looked into it and realized it was fake. That Sophie person is just a con artist trying to make a buck off the Wachowski Brothers' work. Not that they're great writers or anything - and I do think that they're hacks, but it's still their work, not hers.

Anyway, check out the Neil Gaiman link. The man knows what he's talking about.

reply