What does Steve Coogan’s Lost King case mean for future biopics?

What does Steve Coogan’s Lost King case mean for future biopics?

The appetite for drama based on real events seems insatiable, but a preliminary ruling that a British film defamed the original of one of its characters – along with legal action against Baby Reindeer – may give producers pause for thought

It’s enough to chill the blood of screenwriters, directors and producers everywhere – or at least provoke a wince of recognition, whether they are in UK legal jurisdiction or not. In a preliminary ruling, a British judge has ruled that the The Lost King, the film about the discovery in 2012 of Richard III’s remains in a Leicester car park, has a case to answer that it is defamatory of Richard Taylor, a former university official.

The Lost King covers the efforts spearheaded by Philippa Langley (played by Sally Hawkins) to uncover Richard III’s skeleton, and Lee Ingleby plays Taylor, the then deputy registrar of Leicester university. Taylor claims the film shows him “behaving abominably” and shows him taking credit for the discovery for himself and the university.

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