The producer of the 1997 Selena biopic has received a green light from a judge to take her family to court for alleged breach of contract over the new Netflix series.
- Aug 22, 2021
AceShowbiz - Producer Moctesuma Esparza has been given permission to pursue litigation against late "Tejano" superstar Selena's family over their recent Netflix series.
He claimed Selena's father and sister violated a contract by licensing the singer's life rights to Netflix, and now a Los Angeles judge has agreed to let him have his day in court.
Esparza maintains he and Selena's father, Abraham Quintanilla, agreed a deal in 1995 over the TV and movie rights to the tragic singer's life story, which resulted in the popular 1997 biopic, "Selena", starring Jennifer Lopez.
But he was not involved in the hit 2020 Netflix project "Selena: The Series", starring Christian Serratos, and he insists he should have been.
L.A. Superior Court judge Maurice Leiter ruled on Thursday (19Aug21) that Esparza's contract claim against the family has sufficient merit and can go ahead, but he dismissed the producer's claims of tortious interference and misappropriation of publicity rights, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Lopez had nothing but good words for the Netflix project and Christian Serratos was grateful for the star's kind response.
"I'm such a fan of hers and I grew up watching that movie (Selena)," she said in a TV interview. "I know that movie backwards and forwards, and she did such an amazing job playing Selena."
Selena was posthumously lauded by the Recording Academy early this year at a special ceremony. She was among the 2021 Grammy Awards Lifetime Achievement honorees that included rap pioneers Salt-N-Pepa and rockers Talking Heads.
