Mickey De Hara Claims ‘The Gentlemen’ Is Substantially Based On His Work And Filed A Lawsuit

Writer Mickey De Hara filed a lawsuit against director Guy Ritchie last month in the London High Court. The lawsuit is about Ritchie’s film, The Gentlemen, which De Hara claims is based on a commission he made for the director and has “substantial” similarities to the script he wrote.

The commission De Hara refers to in his lawsuit is a sequel to RockNRolla he wrote, but that was never filmed. De Hara delivered the script in 2018 and Ritchie allegedly told him that “the time of the gangster movie was over,” insinuating the project was not in development anymore.

The Gentlemen was released in 2020, and follows a gangster called Mickey who is trying to sell a marijuana empire. De Hara’s script also followed a gangster running a marijuana business and he claims the film is a “substantial” reproduction of his script.

The lawsuit specifies that The Gentlemen copies the characters and characterization of De Hara’s script and “unique aspects of the plot”, including an entire scene that, according to the writer, is directly reproduced from his work.

De Hara contacted Ritchie after the film’s release to point out similarities and received a text back saying: “Mickey, I and my people have tried to contact you for some years now. There was no response. I am happy for us to sit down and have a chat.”

The writer denies there was any attempt to contact him before the film’s release. He asked to receive a credit as a writer, however, this was denied:

“I have a feeling that might be too late Mickey…I’ll try, but what I can do is get you a credit on something in the future. Let me see what I can do. Honestly, we did try to get hold of you.”

De Hara states in the lawsuit that he:

 “Has no intention of seeking credit for original work that was not created by him (but seeking) credit for his original work that has been used in ‘The Gentlemen’ without his consent and without payment of the agreed remuneration.”

De Hara is also seeking over $250,000 including a share for the film’s profit. Ritchie has yet to file his defense and his representatives have not commented on the lawsuit.