Amazon is facing a lawsuit over allegedly using AI to replicate actors’ voices during the production of its Prime Video Road House remake.
On Tuesday, R. Lance Hill, one of the screenwriters of the original 1989 Patrick Swayze-led Road House, sued Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and parent company Amazon Studios claiming copyright infringement and seeking declaratory relief. In his California suit, Hill (who goes by the pen name David Lee Henry), accuses Amazon of failing to license his original screenplay and calls for the court to block the March 21st release of the film.
Hill also claims that Amazon set a deadline to complete the remake that was threatened by last year’s SAG-AFTRA actors strike, prompting the company to use generative AI to replicate the voices of Road House‘s stars. Should this be true, it would be a violation of the bargaining agreements between SAG-AFTRA and the Director’s Guild of America.
In response to The Hollywood Reporter, a spokesperson for Amazon MGM Studios said the lawsuit is “completely without merit” and “the film does not use any AI in place of actors’ voices.”
The full lawsuit can be found here.
The new Road House film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a former UFC middleweight fighter who ends up working as a bouncer in a Florida roadhouse, only to discover things are not what they seem. Notably, the lawsuit isn’t the first time that the remake has garnered controversy.
In particular, director Doug Liman is boycotting the premiere of the film, claiming that Amazon promised a theatrical release but ultimately made the film exclusive to Prime Video. Gyllenhaal, for his part, has said the film was always intended to be released streaming-only. Variety has also reported on a slew of apparent behind-the-scenes conflicts, including Liman supposedly being given the option to get a theatrical release in exchange for a smaller budget that he ultimately declined.
It remains to be seen what else may come out of the lawsuit or the film itself.
Image credit: Prime Video
