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.

Read more

 Wait, before you go…

If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.

Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.

Support Truthdig
In this Article:
#film#hurt locker#lawsuit#mark boal#oscars#playboy