Mark Wahlberg and Michael Bay sued over Pain & Gain film
By Tribute on April 22, 2014 | 5 Comments
It seems Bryan Singer isn’t the only Hollywood director facing legal trouble lately. Mark Wahlberg and Michael Bay are being sued over the portrayal of a main character in the 2013 dark comedy Pain & Gain. Marc Schiller, who was the inspiration for the character, claims he was falsely portrayed as a “deplorable, unlikable, sleazy, rude, abrasive, womanizing braggart” in the movie, instead of a “family man.” The film tells the true story of a group of bumbling bodybuilders who kidnapped and tried to kill Schiller, drugging him and running over him in his own car after weeks of torture as they forced him to sign over all his assets to them. Beyond all odds, he survived and went to the police, but because the authorities were slow to respond, the gang managed to kidnap another man and a woman, murdering both before they were finally caught.
Monk star Tony Shaloub portrayed Schiller in the film (the character was renamed Victor Kershaw). In legal documents Schiller, who is seeking “unspecified damages,” states the studio should not have marketed the film as a “true story” but should have instead clearly labeled it as being inspired by real life events. Wahlberg and Bay have yet to respond publicly to these allegations. ~Tarah Bleier
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I was wondering how long it would take for the real people involved to sue them! How do you make a comedy out of kidnapping, torture and murder?
They didn’t. It’s not funny.
mark just did his job with the script
But he knew going in that it was making fun of a true story in which someone was brutally tortured. Actors need to think about what they’re doing.
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