18 Oct – Recent reports suggest that "The Hangover 2" allegedly copied a script that aspiring screenwriter Michael Alan Rubin wrote about his personal experiences in Asia, and now the writer is planning to sue Warner Bros. and the filmmakers behind the movie, according to a report on Entertainment Weekly's website.
After the writer's marriage to a Japanese woman fell apart during their honeymoon period in 2008, Rubin wrote a script and turned it into a screenplay titled "Mickey and Kirin". Rubin is suing under the pretence of copyright infringement, defamation, fraud, and other charges. The details of the suit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles are as follows; Rubin stated that "The Hangover 2" "is "copied from the treatment ... and also from the real life incident of the Plaintiff, because the protagonist in Hangover-2 travels from the United States to an Asian country to marry his Asian girlfriend." In addition to the claims made against Warner Bros. and the team, the lawsuit also blames his ex-wife, Tamayo Otsuki, for providing the filmmakers his story. Rubin felt that they are defaming him with the franchise's portrayal of Ed Helms' character who married a prostitute in Vegas while under the influence of drugs and had sex with a transsexual prostitute. This is not "The Hangover 2"'s first lawsuit, as previously, S. Victor Whitmill waged a legal battle with the filmmakers for allegedly ripping off his copyrighted tattoo design he created for Tyson but as of June 24, 2011, a settlement has been made between both parties. Furthermore, Ed Helms' stuntman, Scott McLean, has also filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. for brain injuries sustained during one of the film's automobile chase sequences. Unlike the previous lawsuit, this one is still pending.