That's a great movie. "I offer you peace--either the peace of plenty or the peace of the grave. The choice is yours." I especially am a fan of the World Control T-shirts the people are wearing at the end!
Posted on 12/09/2004 10:41:31 PM PST by PetroniusMaximus
Monday, October 4th 2004 ended a six-year dispute involving Sophia Stewart, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver and Warner Brothers. Stewart's allegations, involving copyright infringement and racketeering, were received and acknowledged by the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow residing.
Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood, as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars.
Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, "The Third Eye," copyrighted in 1981. In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works.
According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film, in attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that "credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers." These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that it had been "often used during preparation of the motion pictures." The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart's case dismissed, without success.
Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart. Some who have researched her history and writings are open to her story. Others are suspicious and mocking. "It doesn't bother me," said Stewart in a phone interview last week, "I always knew what was true."
Some fans, are unaware of the case or they question its legitimacy, due to the fact that it has received little to no media coverage. Though the case was not made public until October of 2003, Stewart has her own explanation, as quoted at daghettotymz.com:
"The reason you have not seen any of this in the media is because Warner Brothers parent company is AOL-Time Warner... this GIANT owns 95 percent of the media... let me give you a clue as to what they own in the media business... New York Times papers/magazines, LA Times papers/magazines, People Magazine, CNN news, Extra, Celebrity Justice, Entertainment Tonight, HBO, New Line Cinema, Dreamworks, Newsweek, Village Roadshow... many, many more!... They are not going to report on themselves. They have been surpressing my case for years..."
Fans who have taken Stewart's allegations seriously, have found eerie mythological parallels, which seem significant in a case that revolves around the highly metaphorical and symbolic Matrix series. Sophia, the greek goddess of wisdom has been referenced many times in speculation about Stewart. In one book about the Goddess Sophia, it reads, "The black goddess is the mistress of web creation spun in her divine matrix."
Although there have been outside implications as to racial injustice (Stewart is African American), she does not feel that this is the case. "This is all about the Benjamins," said Stewart. "It's not about money with me. It's about justice."
Stewart's future plans involve a record label, entitled Popsilk Records, and a motion picture production company, All Eyez On Me, in reference to God. "I wrote The Third Eye to wake people up, to remind them why God put them here. There's more to life than money," said Stewart. "My whole message to the world is about God and good and about choice, about spirituality prevailing over 'technocracy'."
If Stewart represents spirituality, then she truly has prevailed over the "technocracy" represented in both the Terminator and the Matrix, and now, ironically, by their supposed creators.
Stewart is currently having discussions with CBS about a possible exclusive story and has several media engagements in the near future to nationally publicize her victory.
No doubt.
They certinally didn't respond. Both are fairly new members. DNC spies I wonder?
Yeah, The Forbin Project was a great movie! A single computer intelligence that merged and took over other computers and turned nuclear missles against man in order to rule the world. It does sound familiar!
And then there was a Star Trek episode in the 60's, I think it had a title like "I touched the sky". People living in a make-believe world inside a spaceship run by a god-like computer intelligence. I can think of a bunch of sci-fi novels from the 50's and 60's with similar scenarios.
the missing 30 minutes are the end where Neo finds out that there is in fact a spoon
umm didn't anyone RTFA?
"The investigation also stated that "credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers." These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that it had been "often used during preparation of the motion pictures."
That's a great movie. "I offer you peace--either the peace of plenty or the peace of the grave. The choice is yours." I especially am a fan of the World Control T-shirts the people are wearing at the end!
Actually, that possibility can't be laughed off since the Democrats are now "out of the closet" about how they REALLY feel about black Americans like this writer, Sophia Stewart. Especially black American WOMEN.
Are you ever right.
I couldn't believe what Henry said about Thomas. He obviously never read a single Thomas opinion just assuming he was a stupid N like all the rest of them N's. Course then there is Ginsberg and Sharpton who really can't write.
The DNC the real party of hate and the KKK.
It doesn't just happen wih movie scripts. This is a case of the big company with all the lawyers trying to stomp on the little person. For myself, I do nothing with a large company unless it is spelled out in a contract or the deal is for some fast cash with no continuing liability.
Could not happen to a nicer pair of wierdo deviants.
Well apparently the writer did no have room or wisdom to put forth what took years to decide in the courts.
But if they used her manuscript in production and cut scenes to hide that fact its pretty incriminating.
That movie is based on such and odd-ball concept that in all my years of reading sci-fi I've never seen anything that comes close, so it seems unlikely two people would come up with something that similar. Besides, the producers acknowledged seeing her manuscript before they filmed, even though they denied using it.
What I want to know is where did the Terminator come in?
On April 24, 2003, A Sophia Stewart resident of Salt Lake City, Utah filed a Federal lawsuit in the District Court Of California, against defendants Andy and Larry Wachowski, also among the accused are Hollywood's Joel Silver, and Warner Brothers. These defendants are being sued for the recreation, redevelopment, promotion, reproduction, proliferation, distribution, and disbursement throughout the United States of America and abroad to third world countries, for the movie the "Matrix".
Allegedly the defendants cut, removed and, or destroyed from the original production of the movie motion picture, more than thirty (30) minutes of the movie, and the introduction. In an attempt to avoid both civil and criminal penalties for Copyright Infringement from Stewart's 45 page Epic Science Fiction Manuscript entitled The Third Eye which copyrights date back as far as 1981, as noticed and acknowledged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In the summer of 1986 Stewart answered an ad in a national magazine in which the Wachowski’s were looking for a science fiction manuscript to make in a comic book. Stewart six-page treatment shows exactly how the movie should look on the screen and how the scenes should go. The brothers used as much of the material as they could, before the story department at Warner’s allegedly changed features while preserving the heart of the Epic, in order to protect themselves of being held libel. Credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers have come forward claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski brothers. The witnesses also add that the original work of Stewart had been seen, and often used during preparation of the motion picture.
Joel Silver is the influence who is noted for having taken the brothers and allegedly stolen work to Warner Brother’s Top Brass Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Alan Horn, to make the movie.
During the investigation held by the FBI, key pieces of evidence were found and discussed in detail with Stewart, that later establish Stewart as the writer of the movie “The Matrix” and surprisingly “The Terminator”. This discovery adds to the list of defendants; 20 th Century Fox Productions, James Cameron, Gale Ann Hurd (Cameron’s ex-wife), and Hemdale Films with no less than four counts of liability each.
These “Defendants” all appear to be members of a group of conspirators. Movie motion pictures producers, directors, officers, authorized agents, benefactors, editors, screen writers, movie composers, movie motion picture distributors, and movie production companies. All, who agreed between themselves to engage, conduct and perform wrongful deception, misrepresentation, fraud with face forward deceit to the purchasing public and the original artist, all for their personal monetary gain.
This may explain the long-term overseas absence taken by the Wachowski brothers after an investigation was launched in 2000, could this have been an attempt to avoid questioning on the brother’s behalf? Or maybe they were just celebrating because they are now financially able to explain “Their Script”!
Sabrina Woods
1602 Honeysuckle Ln.
Round Rock, TX 78664
P: (512)244.7603
I always thought the Matrix seemed about God and Christianity. I hated the last line of the original movie which is very antiChrist and thought it ruined the basic concept of the movie, hijacking it. I find it very cool to find out that it looks like the person who came up with it founded it on Godly principles. I am not sure what her doctrine is but it would be interesting to find out. Is she going to come out with novels based upon what she originally wrote I wonder. I wonder what else she will come up with in the future. What a great imagination.
The commonality between Terminator and Matrix is a dystopic future when machines created by man become too smart for us and turn on humanity.
I always assumed that both of these came from Dune, which was written in 1965.
Collosus was a great flick !! Ahead of its time .
It has been written about much longer ago than that. Back in the late 60's or early 70's there was a television movie called Colossus: The Forbin Project. Anyone remember that one?
Oh, and more than a few Twilight Zone epis. And Dimension-X before that. And X Minus One. And ...
I guess you can say it's a twist on Ned Ludd[ite]'s rage.
She copyrighted her Matrix story in 1981. Apparently, significant similarities exist between her story and the Matrix movies. If she came up with The Matrix and The Terminator, she's pretty brilliant.
Why does he need to show evidence? She won her case therefore she must have had plenty of evidence. This article isn't about IF she is right but the fact that she was right and won her case, nothing needs to be proven, she proved it to the court and won against a giant in the media industry.
Uhhh...WHAT? Have you actually read Dune? It's hard to think of a work of Sci Fi more different from Terminator and The Matrix than Dune.
Googling about a bit, it doesn't appear that Stewart has actually prevailed on the merits yet, merely survived various pre-trial motions to dismiss, although the defendants succeeded in getting her RICO claims dismissed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.