Warner Bros. are facing a lawsuit for marketing last summer's War Dogs as a true story.
Effraim Diveroli, who was portrayed by Jonah Hill in gun runner comedy, is suing the studio for false advertising and unfair competition among other things.
The studio attempted to have the suit thrown out of court this week but apparently the cast and crew saying or implying that the film was a true story during the promotion of the film was enough to keep the case alive.
Diveroli takes issue with how he was portrayed in the film (not surprising considering it was quite unflattering) and also with the fact that rather than option his own manuscript, 'Once a Gun Runner', Warner Bros. instead Guy Lawson, a Rolling Stone writer who had interviewed Diveroli in prison and expanded a feature for the magazine into a book.
"The gravamen of the Amended Complaint is that Warner grossed more than $85 million by promoting War Dogs as Diveroli’s 'true story' when it was not the true story," writes U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven. "The Amended Complaint identifies a number of allegedly false advertisements, including statements in movie trailers, social media posts, and promotional interviews with War Dogs’ director, Todd Phillips, screenwriter Stephen Chin, and stars Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, and Bradley Cooper."
Warner Bros. argued that the statements regarding the truth of the story are not actionable because they are protected under the 1st Amendment (the right to free speech). However the Judge ruled that the statements could be considered 'commercial speech' because they were promotional, refer to a specific product and the studio had an economic motive for making them.
"Warner knew that representing the story as 'true' would induce consumers to see War Dogs," writes Scriven. "Although movies are works of artistic expression and must be protected, 'they are also sold in the commercial marketplace like other more utilitarian products, making the danger of consumer deception a legitimate concern that warrants some government regulation.'"
Via THR
