'Top Gun: Maverick' writer not entitled to share of movie profits, US judge says
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said that Shaun Gray failed to show, opens new tab he was entitled to part of the film's copyright based on his work on the movie's script. The judge declined, however, to dismiss Gray's copyright infringement claim against Paramount.
Rakoff said in the two-page order that he would publish a separate opinion outlining his reasoning "in due course."
Gray's attorney and spokespeople for Paramount did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision on Thursday.
Gray, who said he is the cousin of "Maverick" screenwriter Eric Singer, sued Paramount in April. Gray's lawsuit said that Singer and director Joseph Kosinski approached him in 2017 about co-writing the screenplay for "Maverick."
The complaint said that Gray wrote several scenes that appeared in the movie, including multiple fighter jet flight scenes. Gray also said he was the film's only writer who was not subject to a work-made-for-hire agreement, which entitled him to a share of its copyright and profits.
"Maverick," the sequel to the 1986 hit "Top Gun," grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide following its theatrical release in 2022.
Paramount told the court in June that Gray "never received a credit of any kind on 'Maverick' or on any screenplay draft," and that he had "no viable claim" against the studio.
The case is Gray v. Paramount Global, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:25-cv-03484.
For Gray: Marc Toberoff of Toberoff & Associates
For Paramount: Molly Lens, Danielle Feuer and Matthew Kaiser of O'Melveny & Myers
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Paramount sued by writer over 'Top Gun: Maverick' screenplay
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