Clint Eastwood Already Earning Oscar Buzz For ‘American Sniper,’ But $5 Million Lawsuit Looms

Clint Eastwood is riding high after the first showing of the Oscar-worthy American Sniper, but there could be trouble on the horizon for the acclaimed actor and director.

Eastwood is caught up in a $5 million lawsuit that just won’t go away. Ryan Brooks has claimed that Warner Bros. infringed on his copyright with the movie Trouble with the Curve, and after having an initial suit tossed out earlier this year, Brooks is trying again with a new breach of contract complaint.

Brooks claims that Warner Bros. took his idea for the 2012 movie, which was written by Ryan Brown.

“Brown used the ideas embodied in the Screenplay to purportedly write a script entitled ‘Trouble with the Curve‘ which was released as a motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams (the “Film”). Brown received credit as the sole writer,” the lawsuit claims.

Clint Eastwood himself isn’t named in the suit, but the uncertainty is casting a cloud over what is otherwise a high time for Eastwood. The movie just had its first public showing at the AFI Fest, and is earning rave reviews from critics. Justin Chang of Variety called it a “skillful, straightforward combat picture” that “gradually develops into something more complex and ruminative.

Change added that the movie “finds the 84-year-old filmmaker in very fine form.”

“Depressingly relevant in the wake of recent headlines, Warners’ December 25 release should drum up enough grown-up audience interest to work as a serious-minded alternative to more typical holiday fare, and looks to extend its critical and commercial reach well into next year,” he wrote.

Clint Eastwood himself has been earning Oscar buzz for several months for American Sniper, and there could be more good news on the horizon. Legal experts believe the Trouble with the Curve lawsuit could once again be thrown out, giving him a clean slate going into award season early next year.

[Image via Collider]