Streaming network Netflix is being taken to court by a man who says its original film ‘Burning Sands’ was a copyright infringement of his 2014 book of the same name detailing the trials and tribulations of a Greek underground pledging process.
Netflix Accused of Stealing ‘Burning Sands’ Story in New Lawsuit
Netflix original film Burning Sands is at the center of a lawsuit from an author who says the pic is based on a book he wrote about hazing at black fraternities. Al Quarles Jr.
Al Quarles, a Millersville University alumnus, says Howard University alum and ‘Burning Sands’ co-writer and director Gerard McMurray plagiarized elements of his self-published manuscript.
Among the plot points Quarles says are nearly identical are the unusually small number of men pledging the fraternity, one of them dying because of hazing and the recital of an Edward Guest poem about perseverance — all centering on a theme of “the tragic irony of the fact that these young black men put themselves through this brutal process in order to join an elite club of networked, successful black male professionals.”
http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/burning-sands-gerard-mcmurray
Quarles, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., is suing damages and any profits associated with the release of the film.
