We Are...Lawsuit

The makers of Ashes to Glory are suing the makers of We Are Marshall saying Warners Bros. ripped off the documentary shot by shot.

Brad McElhinny at the Charleston Daily-Mail recounts some of the details of the allegations in the suit:

The lawsuit claims too many of the ideas and images are the same, including:

* Both movies opening with aerial scenes of the campus in the fall with colorful leaves.

* Both movies beginning with the annual memorial service for those who perished in the tragic crash of 1970.

* Both movies showing the Morehouse family learning about the crash through a news bulletin scrolling across the bottom of a television screen as the family watched "The Newlywed Game." Gene Morehouse, then Marshall's sports information director, was killed in the crash. The lawsuit says the same episode of the game show was depicted in both films, even though it was not really the episode that ran at the time. The "Ashes to Glory" producers said they chose it at random to depict the show generally.

* Both featuring the same hotel marquee, which read "The Lord Giveth... The Lord Taketh Away."

* Both films climaxing with a scene of Marshall's victory over Xavier during the first rebuilding year, with a scene of a football flying through the air in slow motion. In both, the scene is intercut with flashbacks.

* Both films featuring Blake Smith's successful field goal attempt against Xavier, a play that gave the team hope that it could win the game.

* Both films ending with the chant "We Are Marshall."

* Both films ending with depictions of Marshall's football success in recent years, including footage of Coach Pruett holding a championship trophy. Both films use the same three clips from a victory over East Tennessee State in 1984, according to the lawsuit.

* Both using the same clip of Marshall running back Doug Chapman scoring a touchdown during the Motor City Bowl.

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