Paramount Pictures is embroiled in a significant legal battle regarding the script of its blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick. This article delves into the details of the dispute, highlighting the claims made by Shaun Gray and the implications for the future of the franchise.
Paramount’s Legal Battle Over ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Script
Just over 24 hours ago, newly appointed Paramount CEO David Ellison and his top team emphasized that Top Gun 3 is a major priority for their leadership. While the sequel appears to be gearing up for production, a new twist has emerged in the ongoing legal dispute with self-proclaimed co-screenwriter Shaun Gray regarding the Oscar-nominated script for the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, which has grossed $1.5 billion and counting.
Counterclaims Filed in New York Federal Court
“With these counterclaims, PPC aims to clarify who the true aggrieved party is in its dispute with Shaun Gray,” Paramount Pictures Corporation states in its defendant’s answer and counterclaims filed on August 13 in New York federal court. These counterclaims follow a mixed verdict from Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who is also overseeing a fraud and money-laundering case against Carl Rinsch for allegedly defrauding Netflix of over $11 million. The judge’s ruling allowed Paramount to dismiss most of Gray’s copyright infringement claims, except for the copyright infringement aspect.
High Stakes for Paramount
In this context, with a Tom Cruise-led franchise potentially at stake—one of Hollywood’s significant pressure points—this is clearly no mere legal skirmish for Paramount.
The Impact of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
“In 2022, PPC released its hit film Top Gun: Maverick—the sequel to its 1986 blockbuster Top Gun—to widespread critical acclaim and box-office success,” the counterclaim alleging fraud and seeking extensive damages states. “With Maverick’s success, Plaintiff and Counterclaim-Defendant Shaun Gray saw an opportunity to exploit PPC, effectively admitting to infringing PPC’s copyright in Top Gun and defrauding PPC regarding his claimed authorial role.”
Gray’s Claims and Contributions
Gray, who has legitimate credits of his own and is the cousin and occasional assistant to credited Maverick co-writer Eric Warren Singer, claimed in his initial suit that he contributed to the script for Maverick alongside his cousin and director Joseph Kosinski.
After remaining silent for several years, Gray asserts in his April filing that he “wrote key scenes for the screenplay that became the film’s central edge-of-your-seat dramatic action sequences that made it a smash hit.” Adding to the complexity, Maverick military advisor Captain JJ “Yank” Cummings has publicly acknowledged Gray’s contributions during intense writing sessions for the film.
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Paramount’s Response to Gray’s Claims
Paramount, then under the leadership of Shari Redstone, who was awaiting approval for her $8 billion sale to Ellison’s Skydance, dismissed Gray’s claims as baseless and sought to have them thrown out.
Now, Paramount and its O’Melveny & Myers lawyers have adopted a somewhat novel approach to addressing Gray’s claims: If you are telling the truth, you might be in serious trouble.
The August 13 filing suggests: “If, as Gray claims, he did not prepare the ‘Gray Scenes’ under Singer’s contract with PPC, or otherwise license the ‘Gray Scenes’ for PPC’s use in Maverick (which might imply a reciprocal license to Gray), then Gray lacked authorization to use PPC’s copyrighted material from Top Gun or the Maverick materials when he allegedly wrote the ‘Gray Scenes’ and thus infringed PPC’s exclusive right to prepare derivative works of Top Gun and the Maverick materials.”
With discussions involving the WGA over the Maverick script also part of this case, Gray’s attorney Marc Toberoff did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment regarding this latest development.
As they say in Maverick, “It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot.”
