She is sure that making a movie about her and her friends without their permission was illegal.
In mid-September, the film “Hustlers” was released for rent about a gang of dancers who, for several years, effectively (and efficiently) robbed the thirsty bread and circuses of Wall Street financiers. According to the creators themselves, they are based on real events, first described on the pages of New York Magazine in 2015. Dramedy is very successful in cinemas in the United States, which, of course, could not get past the real heroines of history, who are now planning to sue the producers of the film, who did not pay them a dime for the screen version of their commercially successful life.
The movie studios are threatened primarily by Samantha Barbash, the head of the gang, the image of which on the screen was embodied by Jennifer Lopez. It was she who came up with the scheme, according to which, together with her companions, she robbed financiers who were intoxicated by alcohol and mixed there with potent drugs. For this, Samantha was sentenced to 5 years probation.
On Monday, Barbash’s lawyer sent a letter to STXfilms Studios stating that he had violated his client’s rights and threatened to transfer the case to court if the company did not resolve all issues within the next 10 days.
Representatives of STXfilms have already stated that, by law, they had every right to make a film without Samantha’s permission and will defend their right to make films based on unclassified and made public stories.
By the way, in 2017, Ryan Murphy, the director and screenwriter of the series “Feuds” about the behind-the-scenes rivalry of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, began during the filming of their joint film “What happened to Baby Jane?” in 1962 and then lasting for many years. Then the court issued a verdict that a person, whether he is a mere mortal or a living legend, does not own the rights to the story of even his life, therefore he cannot dictate rules or restrictions to those who decide to film it.