A filmmaker has recently instituted a legal action against LeBron James, his production company, and Netflix, presenting a comprehensive 25-page lawsuit.
The filmmaker, Rob Grabow, accuses these entities of appropriating one of his original screenplays for their latest basketball cinematic endeavors.
As reported by TMZ, Grabow asserts that he authored a screenplay entitled The Gift of the Game.
Allegedly, this narrative centers around a Native American high school basketball athlete striving to lead his team to a state championship.
Grabow characterizes it as “a compelling basketball film that addresses themes of community, racial dynamics, and socioeconomic challenges.”
He further contends that he disseminated this screenplay to individuals closely associated with Netflix, LeBron James, and his production company.
Ultimately, Grabow maintains that they have utilized his conceptualizations for their own film, Rez Ball, which premiered in September of the current year.
Grabow enumerates several purported similarities between The Gift of the Game and Rez Ball. This includes the pivotal moment in which the protagonist is fouled during the championship match.
“There are numerous substantially and strikingly similar concrete and expressive elements in the two works’ plot, theme, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, characters and sequence of events,” the lawsuit alleges. Grabow also alleges that Rez Ball is more similar to his screenplay than it is to the book of the same name, which it was supposedly inspired by. He’s suing for alleged copyright infringement, breach of contract, and more and seeking unspecified damages.
