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Arts and Culture

U.S. Soldier Sues, Claims He’s ‘Hurt Locker’ Character

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Posted on Mar 3, 2010
Hurt Locker
imdb.com

Striking resemblance?: Jeffrey Sarver claims he recognizes himself in “Hurt Locker’s” lead character (pictured above).

He and his lawyer waited until the Oscar ballots were in, but on Tuesday, Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver, a U.S. Army soldier who worked as a bomb disposal specialist in Iraq, filed a lawsuit claiming that he had provided the real-world inspiration for actor Jeremy Renner’s character in “The Hurt Locker.”

Why did he wait until the votes were cast? Well, according to his lawyer, Oscar wins for the film could mean winnings for Sarver down the road. 

Meanwhile, Nicolas Chartier, that “Hurt Locker” producer who caused a ruckus recently by sending e-mails asking for support from Academy members, has been officially uninvited from Sunday’s ceremony. —KA

CNN:

Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday claiming writer Mark Boal—a journalist embedded with his Army unit in Iraq—based the film’s main character on his life.

“They literally transposed his life in the film and then claimed it was a work of fiction,” said lawyer Geoffrey Fieger. “The only fiction was the claim it was a work of fiction.”

[...] “We want the movie to be successful, because that is in my client’s benefit,” he said.

Sarver wants the opening credits to list him as the basis for the character Will James, and producers “have to share the financial benefit that apparently they are going to reap from this movie,” Fieger said.

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By Lyle Blake Smythers, March 8, 2010 at 10:28 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Vok. O. Ban, you think that the character Will James has a “resonant, unique name”?  I think you’re confused and need to go back and reread the article.  Unless you were being sarcastic.  Hard to tell what you mean.

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By John Kace, March 4, 2010 at 10:04 pm Link to this comment

Ditch the lawyer. If you get paid put it in carbuerators. Thanks for being a Man.

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By ChangTheRide, March 4, 2010 at 3:52 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

They should have made the movie about US Marine David Motari. He was a true American Hero.

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By WriterOnTheStorm, March 4, 2010 at 11:20 am Link to this comment

The way copyright works, he will have to demonstrate that his life is substantially
exactly like the fictional character, including dialogue and circumstance. Any
deviation would bode ill for his case. Copyright does not protect ideas, or
inspirations, or even people—only the precise expression of those ideas.

His case is probably BS designed for maximum PR with the hopes of big
settlement $$. Too bad for him he couldn’t make his claims against Avatar. That
might have really paid off.

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By diman, March 4, 2010 at 11:12 am Link to this comment

Thank you for this incursion into the nature of the
fictional literary character, but when you get right
down to it, it is always about money, like I said sick
American shit.

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By Vok O. Ban, March 4, 2010 at 9:38 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I wouldn’t be so quick to judge this guy’s claim.  Apparently the writer was a journalist with the guys unit.  I dunno if your aware of the subtle differences between journalism and fiction, but writers don’t (generally) easily transition from one form to the other.
Furthermore every fiction character is based on an observation of humanity whether imagined or real…journalists tend to intently observe those around them.  The character was either based on someone researched or immediate to the author. 
It’s not a stretch to imagine the screenwriter picked up on this particular bomb disposal personnel’s mannerisms, though I think it will be nearly impossible to prove he is the character’s inspiration - unless Mr. Boal is entirely lacking imagination - impossible he gave the character such a resonant, unique name.

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By diman, March 4, 2010 at 6:41 am Link to this comment

Yet another asshole trying to cash in by suing whoever
for whatever, don’t you just love this sick American
shit.

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