In what could have been a merciful move given the advance word on the film, a man has attempted to block the release of the Guy Ritchie/Madonna effort Swept Away.
Sadly the case brought by Vincent D'Onofrio (not the actor of the same name) to the LA superior court, alleging that he should have been given a producer's credit on the film, has been blocked by a judge.
D'Onofrio wanted to stop the release of the movie until it could be released with his credit in place. He claims that he had the idea for Madonna to star in a remake of the 1975 Italian film back in 1996, and told her agent that the rights had to be secured.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, D'Onofrio, who Variety says describes himself as a singer/songwriter/actor/director/writer and producer, says that he didn't hear back from the star, but did discover in 2001 that the remake was going ahead.
Variety also reports that attorney Howard Weitzman, acting on behalf of Madonna, told judge David Yaffe that D'Onofrio had waited until three days before the movie's release date to bring his case. D'Onofrio's lawyer, Morris Getzels, maintained that it was imperative to get his client's name on the film, especially if it was pulled from screens in a week.
Judge Yaffe denied the motion but also questioned why anyone would want their name on a film they expected to die in a week. Wise question - care to answer that, Guy and Madonna?
