Soldier sues, says ‘Hurt Locker’ based on him - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Soldier sues, says ‘Hurt Locker’ based on him

With the 82nd Academy Awards days away, a 38-year-old Army bomb expert said Tuesday that he’s hurt that Hollywood producers cut him out of a front-running best picture nominee — “The Hurt Locker” — that allegedly was based on his exploits in Iraq.

“They never offered anything,” said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver, of Clarksville, Tenn., at a 45-minute news conference at the law office of Geoffrey Fieger in Southfield, Mich.

Fieger filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit on Sarver’s behalf late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. Fieger said he waited until then to file the suit so it wouldn’t hurt the movie’s chances for winning an Academy Award.

The Iraq war drama about a bomb-defusing squad is nominated for nine Oscars.

Fieger said he and attorney Todd Weglarz had been negotiating for several months to no avail.

“Hollywood has made billions exploiting veterans,” Fieger said, adding that it’s going to end now.

A news release announcing Wednesday’s news conference indicates Sarver was the subject of an article for Playboy written by “Hurt Locker” screenwriter Mark Boal. Boal’s story on bomb-defusing squads in Iraq ran in the September 2005 issue.

The release says the suit would allege that “the film’s makers falsely claim the characters portrayed in the film are fictional when in fact the film’s main character, Will James, is Master Sgt. Sarver.”

In the movie, James is played by best actor nominee Jeremy Renner.

The release says the suit accuses Boal and the film’s makers of cheating Sarver “out of financial participation in the film, and any acknowledgement of his heroic actions in Iraq.”

Summit Entertainment, which acted as the U.S. distributor of “The Hurt Locker,” released this statement in response to Fieger’s release:

“Ever since Summit acquired the distribution rights to the finished feature film ‘The Hurt Locker’ during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, we have been proud to showcase the film to audiences in the U.S. The film is a story about heroes depicting a fictional account of what brave men and women do on the battlefield. We have no doubt that Master Sgt. Sarver served his country with honor and commitment risking his life for a greater good, but we distributed the film based on a fictional screenplay written by Mark Boal. We hope for a quick resolution to the claims made by Master Sgt. Sarver.”

Sarver’s wife, Alisa, said her husband has been in the military 18 years and is currently stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., as a bomb technician. After leaving metro Detroit today, she said, her husband plans to attend training in Louisiana.