Drake, LeBron James being sued $10M over new TIFF documentary: report
Drake and LeBron James are working together as part of a new TIFF documentary, but it hasn’t come without its own set of legal troubles.
The film Black Ice is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival later this week and is described as an “urgent documentary [that] examines the role of Black players in Canadian hockey, from pre-NHL contributions to the game to the struggles against racism that continue to this day.”
Drake and James are among the executive producers for the film, which includes a lengthy look at the Colored Hockey League, which began in the late 19th century and carried on for 35 years until dissolving in 1930.
But TMZ is reporting that Drake and James are being sued for a backdoor deal to acquire the rights to the film, by former NBAPA head Billy Hunter. Hunter claims that Black Ice authors Darril and George Fosty sold him the rights for US$265,000, per TMZ. The two brothers wrote the book Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925.
“The NBA star and rapper are being sued for US$10 million by Billy Hunter, the former head of the NBA players union, who claims he holds the exclusive legal rights to produce any movie about Canada’s old Colored Hockey League,” TMZ reported yesterday.
“Hunter claims LeBron and Drake used their production companies to go behind his back and sign a deal with the authors of a book their Black Ice hockey documentary is based on…. and says the authors claimed the documentary did not violate their agreement with Hunter because a documentary is different than a movie, a claim Hunter says is “absurd and made in bad faith.”
An update to the TMZ article adds that the Fosty brothers “believe the suit is unwarranted and frivolous and they will officially respond through their legal team.”
Black Ice has three screening times in Toronto:
- Saturday, September 10, Roy Thomson Hall, 3:30 pm
- Sunday, September 11, Scotiabank Theatre Toronto (Press and Industry), 9:45 am
- Wednesday, September 14, TIFF Bell Lightbox, 9 pm
More info about the documentary can be found here, via TIFF, which is also set to visit theĀ Calgary International Film Festival later this month.
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