Jerry Heller, the former manager of NWA, has filed a $110m defamation suit against the makers of Straight Outta Compton.
The veteran mogul, portrayed in the film by an eerily-aged Paul Giamatti, claims that he never gave permission for his likeness to be used in the biopic. Furthermore, the suit claims Heller is depicted in an unfair light.
"The Film is littered with false statements that harm the reputation of the Plaintiff." reads the document filed in Los Angeles. ""Heller is the 'bad-guy' in the movie who is solely responsible for the demise of N.W.A."
"Moreover, a significant amount of the Film's content that is factually correct is blatantly lifted, converted and stolen from Plaintiff's copyright protected book and/or from the screenplays that Plaintiff owns," it continues.
The suit names director F. Gary Grey as a defendant alongside Dr Dre, Ice Cube and the estate of Eric 'Easy E' Wright.
It finishes: “The insidiousness of defendants’ behaviour is underscored by the fact that the film may become the largest globally grossing music-story based film ever,” reads the complaint. “The larger the success of the film, the greater the damages to plaintiff, who has been and continues to be defamed, ridiculed and robbed of his personal and financial rights to the extent that the intentional and egregious behaviour of defendants demands the imposing of punitive damages.”
According to figures near the end of last month, the film has earned more than $161m worldwide.
Those of a judicial disposition can peruse the filing right here, though hotpress.com will filter through the legalese to keep you well abreast of developments as they occur.