Director Martin Scorsese's Wolf of Wall Street is almost guaranteed to win the Oscar for Best Picture next month, despite a $25 million lawsuit against Paramount for what essentially amounts to defamation of character. Former Stratton Oakmont exec, who was head of the firm's corporate finance department and a member of the board of directors from 1993-1996, Andrew Greene, alleges that P.J. Byrne's portrayal of character Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff is an attack on his personal and professional reputation.
Andrew Green, whose nickname while at the Statton was "Wigwam" instead of "Rugrat", feels that the entire film cast his actions and attitudes during the period in a way that will permanently demean his reputation, which has already undergone so much criminal investigation.
SPOILER ALERT
In the lawsuit, Green, whose character's negligent actions in the movie results in the protagonist's arrest, fears that his reputation has suffered irreparable damage as a result of the film which never got his permission to use his likeness or characterization in the first place (via Hollywood Reporter):
"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.
"[The] Plaintiffs character was arrested in Miami along with a Swiss banker who plaintiff supposedly knew from law school.
"Mr. Greene's character set up a meeting with that Swiss banker that could launder money.
"Mr. Greene's character is...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.
"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."
It is still unclear whether or not Andrew Green's lawsuit has any real legal merit, considering a very similar lawsuit was brought against the Hurt Locker back in 2009 and dismissed by a judge on First Amendment grounds.
Regardless of the legal precedent, Andrew Green will never be looked at the same way by people who have seen the movie and know the role he reportedly played in it.
It seems a high price for anyone to pay so that a criminal like Jordan Belfort can make one more dollar off of someone else's misery.
Paramount has not released any direct statements regarding the suit at this time.
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