John Wick bosses sued for copyright infringement

A screenwriter has sued the production company and writer behind the John Wick film franchise for copyright infringement

In a lawsuit filed in California federal court and obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, the writer, J R Wicker, alleges John Wick and its sequel bear "strikingly and substantially similar" elements to his screenplay Blood for Escobar.

Both works follow a widowed, middle-aged ex-assassin who's reluctantly dragged back into the criminal underworld and goes on an unstoppable killing spree, while battling an international secret society of hit men.

Wicker is seeking profits from the films of at least $10 million (£7.43 million). He names John Wick producer Thunder Road Films, scribe Derek Kolstad and distributor Lionsgate in the complaint.

The lawsuit points to several alleged similarities between Blood for Escobar and Kolstad's spec script that became John Wick. As in the film, Wicker's screenplay starts with the home invasion of the protagonist, Alex, in which his pet is killed. After that, he recovers a hidden cache of weapons in his house, setting up an action sequence at a nightclub.

Both works also feature a network of assassins operated by a bureaucratic organisation.

Kolstad "intentionally, blatantly, and without authorisation, copied" Wicker's screenplay, lawyers for Wicker accuse in the complaint.

Wicker alleges that Kolstad reviewed a copy of his screenplay through Abstract Entertainment founder Mike Goldberg, who was a judge in a screenwriting contest in which Blood for Escobar was submitted.

Wicker claims he saw John Wick for the first time last year.