Creator for “MacGyver”, Lee Zlotoff is gearing up not to fight off against the famous hero’s enemies but to file legal action against Relativity’s parody film “MacGruber” from appearing on the big screen. The alleged film starring Will Forte in the lead began as a simple skit portrayed for “Saturday Night Live” which then moved on to a series of popular Pepsi commercials.
Though the existence of the parody at the beginning on small-screen home television was understandable, Zlotoff and his lawyers could not afford to allow it any longer to next appear on the big screen as well. The main point in Zlotoff’s arguments is his existing film rights to “MacGyver”. At present, the director is busy helming a new movie with New Line based on the popular TV series. The appearance of the parody version, “MacGruber” on the big screen before the real property is released could prove to be fatal for the project. Zlotoff’s lawyer, Paul Mayersohn states in an interview, “We feel they’re infringing our rights“.
The possibility of the court siding in on Zlotoff’s favour would be possible if they see that “MacGruber” could inflict serious damages on the “MacGyver” brand. However some Hollywood experts are not too sure this would happen.
Alonzo Wicker, an entertainment lawyer specializing in the First Amendment Law states, “There’s a broad right to parody, and in this instance it’s clearly parody. I don’t think a viewer will believe the ‘MacGyver’ folks authorized this.”
Both Zlotoff and New Line may be aware of their appeal’s low chances on court as they haven’t filed a legal action yet. However the studio and Zlotoff are far from giving up as their attorneys have already begun by presenting Relativity Media with cease and desist orders in preparation for the possibility of litigation.
The countdown for this event begins soon as “MacGruber” is set to hit theatres on the 23rd of April.
