Tupac Biopic 'All Eyez on Me' Creators Slapped With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
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Former Vibe journalist Kevin Powell filed a federal lawsuit on Friday, June 23 against Morgan Creek, Lionsgate, and the producers and writers of the film for copyright infringement.

AceShowbiz - The filmmakers behind Tupac Shakur biopic "All Eyez on Me" have been hit with a lawsuit. Just a week after the release of the movie, former Vibe journalist Kevin Powell filed a federal lawsuit on Friday, June 23 against Morgan Creek, Lionsgate, and the producers and writers of the film for copyright infringement, TMZ reports.

In the suit, Powell claimed that the biopic creators used his work to write the script without his permission. The music journalist wrote a series of articles for Vibe in the mid '90s focusing on Tupac's 2 major influences - the civil rights movement and the gangsta rap movement. And according to the suit, the biopic's executive producer L.T. Hutton did an interview just this month, saying he looked at "all of the interviews" of Tupac to make the movie.

Powell said that after seeing the movie, he saw many similarities to his articles. In the 16-page document obtained by Deadline, Powell stated there were "stories with fiction characters and re-worked narratives that are unique to the Original Work [Powell's past interviews] that appear in the Infringing Work ['All Eyez on Me']."

Powell is reportedly looking for a significant portion of the $31 million the biopic has made at the box office so far, as well as for the film to be removed from theaters. In a statement released via Facebook, Powell addressed the biopic and his lawsuit as saying, "After a great deal of thought and consultation with many, including my attorneys, I have filed a federal lawsuit against the producers and writers of 'All Eyez on Me', the new Tupac Shakur biopic, for copyright infringement."

"After viewing the movie twice in the past few days, it is clear that my exclusive Vibe cover stories on Tupac Shakur (when he was alive), were lifted, without proper credit or compensation of any kind to me, and used in 'All Eyez ion Me'. As the owner of the copyright to these articles, 'All Eyez on Me' infringed on my rights by using content and narrative that was exclusive to my writings," he continued.

"I am seeking justice and a resolution in this matter that is fully fair to me and all the work I've done throughout the years, as an author and protector of the Tupac Shakur narrative," Powell concluded.

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