*A documentary about the late singer/songwriter Billy Preston was hit with a fraud lawsuit hours before it premiered at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin on Friday.
Per Deadline, the complaint seeks an immediate “injunction preventing Defendants from exhibiting, screening, distributing, selling or otherwise exploiting” the Paris Barclay-directed documentary, “Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It.”
“The Documentary containing intellectual property and other materials provided by and belonging to Plaintiffs, including, without limitation footage from the interviews given by Plaintiffs Joyce Moore, Samuel Moore and Kenneth Burke,” the legal docs continue, Deadline reports.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, Preston Music Group, Ken Burke, and others filed the complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Billy Preston Documentary Hit With Fraud Lawsuit By Sam & Dave Singer And Others Ahead Of SXSW Premiere https://t.co/Pm8VsJMitJ
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 8, 2024
As Deadline reports, the filing states: “Instead of creating the film that they falsely described to Plaintiffs, Defendants White Horse Pictures, LLC, Homegrown Pictures, Inc. and Oyster Productions, LLC, by and through their principals and representatives Defendants Nigel Sinclair, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Stephanie Allain Bray, Paris C.K. Barclay and Cheo Hodari Coker (collectively, ‘Defendants’), produced a film that is a salacious, posthumous ‘outing’ of Mr. Preston that centers on his sexuality – a deeply personal matter that Mr. Preston kept private until immediately before his untimely death – to the exclusion of many of the late musician’s notable accomplishments.”
Preston, known for his talents as a singer, songwriter, and keyboard virtuoso, notably collaborated with the Fab Four before embarking on a prosperous solo career. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 59.
The 29-page complaint outlines the grievances against some of the content in the doc.
“In particular, the Documentary contains extensive commentary from an individual who never even met Mr. Preston regarding the roots of his homosexuality and impact of childhood sexual abuse,” the filing says, Deadline reports.
“The prominent feature of that scandalous material originating from someone to whom Mr. Preston was a complete stranger (and who apparently was owed a favor on a quid pro quo basis by the film’s director) is jarring and out of place,” the filing continues. “Their inclusion, the overall framing of the Documentary and the manner in which the film is being marketed, all confirm that this project is about pushing the director’s and producers’ personal agendas and financial benefit rather than the homage to Billy Preston that was sold to Plaintiffs.”
The plaintiffs have enlisted the services of prominent Hollywood figure Marty Singer and his associate Melissa Lerner to advocate for them in their pursuit of a jury trial.
READ MORE: Billy Preston Got His First of Two No. 1 Singles 47 Years Ago Today [EUR Video Throwback]
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