Tiger King Is Being Sued By Ace Ventura Pet Detective - But Not For The Reason You'd Think
No, sadly, Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura is not going to come in during the next season of Tiger King and sue all offending parties for mistreatment of animals - awesome as that would be. (Like a crossover of Ace Ventura and Liar Liar!)
No, this is a much more everyday lawsuit: Morgan Creek Productions alleges that Tiger King used two Ace Ventura clips - to wit, one with a monkey and one where he's riding an elephant - without their permission during the series.
According to the lawsuit filed:
"Leaving no room for doubt as to the source, a dubbed-over voice identifies one such movie as Ace Ventura, at the precise time when the Infringing Clips appear on screen," the lawsuit says. "Plantiff is informed and believes, and thereupon alleges, that Ace Ventura is the only film used in Tiger King where more than one clip appears."
The suit says that since Tiger King enhanced their own value using the movie clips, the association with Ace Ventura serving to help legitimize his business (which, whether it's true or not, is something you probably never thought you'd see in a court document of any kind), and therefore they were owed some of the money generated by the project.
Morgan Creek Productions, though, does not want to associate themselves with Tiger King in any way:
"The series was filled with sordid tales of animal abuse, voluminous guns and a quixotic bid for the U.S. presidency," the lawsuit against Netflix and Goode Films reads. "Most significantly, the program followed a murder-for-hire plot aimed at a competing animal sanctuary owner, hated by Joe Exotic, and seen as a threat to his 'big cat' empire."
If the lawsuit is successful, aside from owing the legal fees, those behind Tiger King will be permanently barred from using any media owned by Morgan Creek Productions.
