The estate of To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee has filed suit over an upcoming Broadway adaptation of the novel, arguing that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's script wrongly alters Atticus Finch and other characters from the book.
The suit contends Mr Sorkin's script violates their agreement by portraying Finch, the noble attorney who represents a black man wrongly accused of rape in Mockingbird, as someone else in the play. A copy of the contract, signed by Ms Lee and dated about eight months before her death in February 2016, has been included.
Filed against the theatre company of New York producer Scott Rudin, the complaint cites an interview with the online publication Vulture in which Mr Sorkin was quoted as saying the small-town lawyer would evolve from a racist apologist at the start of the show to become “Atticus Finch by the end of the play.”
Such a change during a play could fit with the character evolution shown between the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mockingbird and Ms Lee's first draft of the novel, finally released in 2015 as Go Set a Watchman.
But the lawsuit contends the script would violate the contract by changing Finch and other characters and adding still more people who are not in the novel. It asks a judge to enforce a section of the agreement that states the play will not "depart in any manner from the spirit of the novel nor alter its characters."
A firm that represents Mr Rudin’s company, Rudinplay, said Mr Sorkin’s script “is a faithful adaptation of a singular novel which has been crafted well within the constraints of the signed agreement” between the producers and Ms Lee.
The statement also took a jab at the “history of litigious behaviour” of Ms Lee’s estate, overseen by attorney Tonja Carter of Lee’s south Alabama hometown of Monroeville.
“This is, unfortunately, simply another such lawsuit, the latest of many, and we believe that it is without merit,” said the statement. “While we hope this gets resolved, if it does not, the suit will be vigorously defended.”
The play is scheduled to open in New York in December.
The suit names as its plaintiff Ms Carter, who represented the author during the final years of the author’s life. She handled Ms Lee’s will and is listed in the lawsuit as the personal representative of the estate.
Rudinplay paid Ms Lee $100,000 after she approved Mr Sorkin as the screenwriter in November 2015, the suit said. Ms Carter first saw a draft of the play in September, according to the lawsuit, and she later spoke with Mr Rudin by phone to express numerous concerns about the script.
“Mr Rudin assured Ms Carter that he wanted to do the play right and that he would make sure that the estate would be satisfied with the final product,” the suit said.
The two talked again in February about the script, the suit said, adding: "At times, the conversation was heated." Ms Carter sued after Mr Rudin's attorney wrote earlier this month saying extensive changes to the script were not possible, the suit said.
Mr Sorkin has won multiple Emmys for his work on the drama series The West Wing, and he won an Academy Award for his screenplay of The Social Network in 2011.
Mr Rudin’s credits include Lady Bird, which was nominated for an Academy Award as best motion picture this year, and Fences, which was a 2017 nominee. He won a best picture Oscar for No Country for Old Men in 2008.
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Results
6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 I 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 I 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 I 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm The Entisar Listed I Dh250,000 I 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
9.25pm The Garhoud Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,200m I Winner Muarrab, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
10pm Handicap I Dh160,000 I 1,600m I Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Naga
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Company%20profile
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Indika
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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Australia squads
ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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