Movie producer Harvey Weinstein has said he is confident he can fight off a legal challenge made by Grammy award winning soul star Sam Moore in relation to his film 'Soul Men'.
Moore claims that the new movie, due for release later this week, has been based on his career, in particular his partnership with Dave Prater, with whom he performed as Sam & Dave for twenty years. The film, which stars Samuel L Jackson and the late Bernie Mac as an estranged R&B duo trying to stage a comeback, is named after a 1967 Sam & Dave album, which included the first recording of the song 'Soul Man'.
Moore is reportedly speaking to his legal people regarding suing the companies involved in the film, including Weinstein, claiming it infringes his trademark rights to the name 'Soul Men'. He also reckons that because of parallels between the movie's plot and his own career, and because the public may therefore consider the film to be based on Sam & Dave, that there may be grounds for defamation.
Legal letters mailed to the Weinstein Company by Moore, and reported on in the US press, say: "The film is sexist, racist and embarrassing, and that's not what Sam & Dave were about... It's so amateurish, so stupid, and I'm surprised that Samuel L Jackson is involved in this. But when you read the script, all you see is vulgarity. Every other word is the 'N-word' or 'M-f' and it's just not right. They have bastardised my whole story".
But Weinstein has told reporters he is confident he can win any legal action thrown against him, telling reporters this weekend: "Months ago, we received Mr Moore's claim and told him he had none. As he could readily see from the script we sent him, 'Soul Men' is not, in any part or respect, based on Mr Moore's life. It tells a different story about different people. If Mr Moore decides to file a lawsuit, he will lose".