Paramount Studios sued over ‘Top Gun’ copyright

Tom Cruise arrives in his helicopter at the premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” 1:33 (CNN) — The family of the author of the article that inspired Top Gun (1986) sued Paramount Studios for violating the film’s copyright . In a lawsuit filed Monday in California federal court, the heirs to Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article “Top Guns” say the movie distribution company failed to repurchase the rights to the recently released sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. Shosh and Yuval Yonay claim they sent Paramount a notice of termination and the rights reverted to theirs in January 2020, the lawsuit, which was obtained by CNN, states. According to the Yonays, production on Top Gun: Maverick wrapped in May 2021, more than a year after the studio learned it no longer held the rights to the source material. “These claims are without merit and we will vigorously defend ourselves,” Paramount Studios told CNN in a statement. The film, which stars Tom Cruise, was initially scheduled for a July 2019 release but faced numerous delays and is currently sitting atop the domestic box office for the second week in a row. CNN has contacted attorneys for Shosh and Yuval Yonay for comment.