Maverick Writer’s nephew claims to have written key scenes in lawsuit

Shaun Gray, VFX artist and nephew of Top Gun: Maverick writer Eric Singer, has filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, claiming he received no credit or compensation for writing key scenes in the film.

According to Variety, Gray claims he spent five months working with Singer on the script, writing key action scenes and “meticulous, time-stamped files.” of his contributions. Gray previously worked with Singer and was credited as a writer’s assistant at The International and a writing consultant at Only the Brave.

“This action seeks justice for Gray, a talented screenwriter manipulated and exploited by Hollywood power players, and demands accountability from defendants who profited prodigiously by misappropriating Gray’s creative work.” reads the lawsuit.

Paramount, however, believes there is not much to it. “This lawsuit, as previously filed by Mr. Toberoff in an attempt to capitalize on the success of Top Gun: Maverick, is completely unfounded.” reads a statement from a Paramount spokesperson.

The reference to Toberoff concerns an earlier lawsuit filed against Paramount by Gray’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, who sued Paramount on behalf of Ehud Yonay, the writer who wrote the 1983 article on which the original Top Gun was based.

Regarding the recent lawsuit, Gray claims that he wrote a dozen action scenes for the film, making it the hit it became. We will have to see what the court thinks of this as the lawsuit progresses.