Martin Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET is yet another fantastic piece of cinema for the acclaimed director to add to his impressive filmography, as well as my personal favourite film of 2014 so far. The film is currently receiving attention for its multiple award nods, including five academy award nominations where many are hoping that phenomenal leading man Leonardo DiCpario will (finally) walk away with an Oscar.
Now it seems that the film has received attention for the wrong reasons which has resulted in Paramount being sued over an untruthful portrayal of one of the films central characters. As you may be aware, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET is based on Jordan Belfort’s memoir of the same name meaning that the characters seen within the film are based on real life individuals. Andrew Greene is a former employee of the now defunct Stratton Oakmont and worked for the company between 1993 and 1996. Greene was portrayed in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET by P.J. Byrne as ‘Rugrat’ and allegedly gave no consent for his image, name and likeness to be included in the film. Greene is also unhappy that he was characterised as an immoral individual through various uses of cocaine and promiscuous actions involving various prostitutes. As a result he is suing Paramount Studios after the film reportedly left the former Oakmont director with ‘permanent damage’ for its portrayal of him.
Anyone who has seen THE WOLF OF WALL STREET will know that rugrat is far from the most likeable character in the film and often comes across as extremely annoying. Whether or not this portrayal is accurate or not remains to be seen, however you can read a segment of the lawsuit below:
‘The motion picture contains various scenes wherein Mr. Greene’s character is portrayed as a criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved, and/or devoid of any morality or ethics. In one scene, Mr. Greene’s character is depicted shaving a woman’s head after Jordan Belfort’s character states the woman was offered ten-thousand dollars’.
‘In a voice-over, Jordan Belfort’s character states Plaintiffs character was arrested in Miami along with a Swiss banker who plaintiff supposedly knew from law school, which precipitated Jordan Belfort’s arrest. Another voice-over claims Mr. Greene’s character set up a meeting with that Swiss banker that could launder money. Mr. Greene’s character is later seen accompanying Jordan Belfort to a meeting in Switzerland for the purposes of laundering money. Mr. Greene’s character is shown doing cocaine on company premises during business hours in another scene. The motion picture included other scenes depicting Mr. Greene’s character in a reckless and depraved manner, including more than one scene wherein his character is depicted having sexual relations with a prostitute’.
You can read the full lawsuit here. However in the mean time you can find out how THE WOLF OF WALL STREET faired at the Academy Awards by checking back with The Hollywood News after Sunday 2nd March!
Source: THR
