The Borneo Post (Sabah)

Playwright fails to block opening of new 'Barbershop' movie

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THE MOVIE “Barbershop: The Next Cut” may open on Friday, a Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday as he denied an injunction sought by a New York playwright to block the fourth of a series of comedies that he claims ripped off his stage play “Scissors.”

Ronald Dickerson, a writer, actor and film director also known as JD Lawrence, had filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking the injunction and US$20 million in damages from Time Warner Inc, Warner Brothers Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc and Showtime Networks Inc.

A representa­tive for Dickerson declined to comment on the ruling by US district court Judge Laura Taylor Swain.

“We are pleased that Judge

We are pleased that Judge Swain saw through this thinlyveil­ed attempt to extort the companies that have invested over 14 years and millions of dollars to bring the beloved ‘Barbershop’ franchise to audiences worldwide. Warner Bros and MGM in joint statement

Swain saw through this thinlyveil­ed attempt to extort the companies that have invested over 14 years and millions of dollars to bring the beloved “Barbershop” franchise to audiences worldwide,” Warner Bros and MGM jointly said in an emailed statement.

A pre-trial conference on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 15.

The lawsuit claims that the plots, themes, characters and situations in the Barbershop movies bear an overwhelmi­ng resemblanc­e to those of “Scissors,” which toured the United States from 1998-2001.

“Barbershop: The Next Cut,” which stars Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertaine­r, Eve and Nicki Minaj, is the latest film in a series about the owners of a Chicago barbershop and an Atlanta beauty salon, their employees and neighbourh­ood problems such as gangs and gentrifica­tion. — Reuters

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 ??  ?? Cast members Ice Cube (right), Common (second right, rear), Cedric the Entertaine­r (third right), Nicki Minaj (centre), Eve (in pink), Utkarsh Ambudkar and Anthony Anderson (left) pose at the premiere of ‘Barbershop:The Next Cut’ at TCL Chinese theatre...
Cast members Ice Cube (right), Common (second right, rear), Cedric the Entertaine­r (third right), Nicki Minaj (centre), Eve (in pink), Utkarsh Ambudkar and Anthony Anderson (left) pose at the premiere of ‘Barbershop:The Next Cut’ at TCL Chinese theatre...

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