Black Author wins The Matrix Copyright Infringement Case

[Marcia L. McNair]

Sharing information from Editor Greg Thomas who writes:

[] This little known story has met a just conclusion, as Sophia Stewart, African American author of The Matrix will finally receive her just due from the copyright infringement of her original work!!!

A six-year dispute has ended involving Sophia Stewart, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver and Warner Brothers. Stewart's allegations, involving copyright infringement and racketeering, were received and acknowledged by the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow presiding.

Stewart, a New Yorker who has resided in Salt Lake City for the past five years, will recover damages from the films, The Matrix I, II and III, as well as The Terminator and its sequels. She will soon receive one of the biggest payoffs in the history of Hollywood , as the gross receipts of both films and their sequels total over 2.5 billion dollars.

Stewart filed her case in 1999, after viewing the Matrix, which she felt had been based on her manuscript, 'The Third Eye,' copyrighted in 1981. In the mid-eighties Stewart had submitted her manuscript to an ad placed by the Wachowski Brothers, requesting new sci-fi works..

According to court documentation, an FBI investigation discovered that more than thirty minutes had been edited from the original film, in an attempt to avoid penalties for copyright infringement. The investigation also stated that 'credible witnesses employed at Warner Brothers came forward, claiming that the executives and lawyers had full knowledge that the work in question did not belong to the Wachowski Brothers.' These witnesses claimed to have seen Stewart's original work and that it had been 'often used during preparation of the motion pictures.' The defendants tried, on several occasions, to have Stewart's case dismissed, without success.

Stewart has confronted skepticism on all sides, much of which comes from Matrix fans, who are strangely loyal to the Wachowski Brothers. One on-line forum, entitled Matrix Explained has an entire section devoted to Stewart. Some who have researched her history and writings are open to her story.

Others are suspicious and mocking. 'It doesn't bother me,' said Stewart in a phone interview last week, 'I always knew what was true.'

Some fans, are unaware of the case or they question its legitimacy, due to the fact that it has received little to no media coverage. Though the case was not made public until October of 2003, Stewart has her own explanation, as quoted at aghettotymz.com:

'The reason you have not seen any of this in the media is because Warner Brothers parent company is AOL-Time Warner.... this GIANT owns 95 percent of the media... let me give you a clue as to what they own in the media business... New York Times papers/magazines, LA Times papers/magazines, People Magazine, CNN news, Extra, Celebrity Justice, Entertainment Tonight, HBO, New Line Cinema, DreamWorks, Newsweek, Village Roadshow and many, many more! They are not going to report on themselves. They have been suppressing my case for years.'

Fans who have taken Stewart's allegations seriously, have found eerie mythological parallels, which seem significant in a case that revolves around the highly metaphorical and symbolic Matrix series. Sophia, the Greek goddess of wisdom has been referenced many times in speculation about Stewart. In one book about the Goddess Sophia, it reads, 'The black goddess is the mistress of web creation spun in her divine matrix.'

Although there have been outside implications as to racial injustice (Stewart is African American), she does not feel that this is the case. 'This is all about the Benjamins,' said Stewart. 'It's not about money with me. It's about justice.'

Stewart's future plans involve a record label, entitled Popsilk Records, and a motion picture production company, All Eyez On Me, in reference to God. 'I wrote The Third Eye to wake people up, to remind them why God put them here. There's more to life than money,' said Stewart. 'My whole to the world is about God and good and about choice, about spirituality over 'technocracy'.'

If Stewart represents spirituality, then she truly has prevailed over the 'technocracy' represented in both the Terminator and the Matrix, and now, ironically, by their supposed creators.

Stewart is currently having discussions with CBS about a possible exclusive story and has several media engagements in the near future to nationally publicize her victory. June 13th 2004. Sophia Stewart's press release read: 'The Matrix & Terminator movie franchises have made world history and have ultimately changed the way people view movies and how Hollywood does business, yet the real truth about the creator and creation of these films continue to elude the masses because the hidden secret of the matter is that these films were created and written by a Black woman...a Black woman named Sophia Stewart. But Hollywood does not want you to know this fact simply because it would change history. Also it would encourage our Black children to realize a dream and that is...nothing is impossible for them to achieve!'
I LOVE THE BUZZ THIS POSTING GENERATED! If the arguments against Stewart aren't representative of the theme in The Matrix, I don't know what is! As you read the responses, keep that idea in mind. Peace, Marcia McNair

[William Dorsey]

Please explain what you saw when you read carefully. The article does not say anything about an appeals process that is ongoing. At you can see the history of this rumor as well as the fact that in November of 2009 "some web-based news sites erroneously republished outdated (and inaccurate) articles from 2004...." This comes from one of the two updates at the bottom, just above "Last updated: 15 November 2009"

In November I received an email that copied the article here exactly, and I remembered it from five years ago, which led me to search for any updates, and the link from Snopes.com is all I found. It would also be helpful if you gave us the source of the court documents you found online.

The Snopes piece reports that "Stewart's case was dismissed in June 2005 when she failed to show up for a preliminary hearing of her case. In a 53-pageruling, Judge Margaret Morrow of the Central District Court of California dismissed the suit, saying Stewart and her attorneys had not entered any evidence to bolster its key claims or demonstrated any striking similarity between her work and the accused directors' films. As of this writing, Stewart's case is no longer before the courts. She has announced that she does not plan to let the matter drop, so possibly this case will someday be re-filed and heard, but for now it is over."

Like so many whose comments I have read this morning on so many black sites, I wanted this to be true; but if it isn't true, it isn't true.

[Sergio Mims]

I just posted the same thing you said a few weeks ago, See my post at the bottom

[William Dorsey]

Thanks for the link to your article. I was surprised to have received the story from a friend of mine who is "in the news business," but is not himself a reporter.

I figured SOMEbody had jumped (back) on this story once it jumped back onto the web; glad it was so thorough in coverage and discussion.

As a sociology and AfricAm Studies prof, situations like this show that the 'net is very much like conversation: people repeat stuff they themselves heard from others as though it is settled truth, except that on-line the trend of thought and response is preserved. And, as in everyday life, the uncritical and unquestioning far outnumber the thoughtful, analytical observer; another corollary of Gresham's Law.

[E. Joyce Moore]

What part of Sophia hasn't gotten anything yet does not the owner of this site not understand. I speak to Sophia personally, have even interviewed her. I keep telling the owner of this site that she has NOT settled anything yet, in fact, she is suing her lawyers for withholding evidence right now.

[Joe is the man]

Why on earth would you want something not true (false) to be true? It speaks to your mental state.

[Marcia L. McNair]

As a journalist, I have been taught to question everything! And it puzzles me as to why African Americans are so quick to question Stewart but not her accusers! So I ask you, how do you know this information is false? Don't respond with a reference to character ("mental state"), because that is a form of false argument. Do you have facts from a credible source that disprove Stewart? Keep in mind that the Scottsboro Boys lost their court case as well! Thus, losing a court case proves nothing. Many, many people of all races have lost court cases! Many, many people have been falsely convicted. Therefore, can I (as a thoughtful person) believe someone is wrong because he or she lost his or her court case? What evidence do I have that only people who are wrong lose their court cases and only people who are right win their court cases? As I noted in an earlier response, people need to begin to think more critically about all the information they receive!

[Joe is the man]

Because Sophia has made false claims! She said she won the case and that turned out to be a flat out lie! Why on earth would be you surprised she is now being scrutinized after misleading many?

[Marcia L. McNair]

I guess none of you people have ever lost a court case! Do you realize that winning a court case has nothing to do with being wrong or right?

[Joe is the man]

And you wonder why people view you guys as a fringe nutcase bunch? Sophia was going around purposely MISLEADING people into thinking she "won" the case. There are followers of this woman all over the net, fighting tooth and nail she ACTUALLY won the case. I guess since the cats out the bag (Court documents) she no longer promotes the convenien falsehood. The argument has now changed from she won the case to just because someone wins the case does not necessarily mean they are right. I bet you if she had won the case, you would be cheering she was right!

HYPOCRITES.

[Ken Mills]

Yep, the power of "facts" on the internet. Ain't it grand? People take forwards as gospel. Do you all also believe that Barack Obama shouldn't be president because he's not an American citizen? It' says he's not on the internet!

I kinda wanted this case to be true back then, but it just does not seem like she has a case. There are so many more influences for The Matrix that someone's book would be the last thing I think influenced the story.

Here's to hoping that a black author actually comes up with the next Matrix-level phenomenon and we can celebrate it, not be confused about it.

[Ywndricka]

Sophia Steward has been "hoodwinked" by Warner Brothers, Fox 21 etc etc...

[Diane]

Urban Legends Busted: Sophia Stewart

http://www.pamil-visions.net/urban-legends-busted-sophia-stewart/27...

Tags: Sophia Stewart • the matrix • the third eye 2009 November, 11th

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens As Sophia Stewart, also known as Zenia Kavala, was one of the most popular trends in Google today, some sites rushed into publishing “news” about the author who claimed unsuccessfully to be “the mother of The Matrix.”

For example, Greg Thomas, Editor of lipstickalley.com copied an older article, originally posted by Salt Lake Community College’s Globe slccglobelink.com stating that; “Monday, October 4th 2004 ended a six-year dispute involving Sophia Stewart, the Wachowski Brothers, Joel Silver and Warner Brothers. Stewart’s allegations, involving copyright infringement and racketeering, were received and acknowledged by the Central District of California, Judge Margaret Morrow residing.” Thomas’ editorial titled “Black Author wins The Matrix Copyright Infringement Case” carefully left out the initial date, informing the readers that Stewart’s trial ended today. This led to other sites, like Thaindian, copying and publishing misinforming materials online, a traffic-grabbing frenzy that leads to propagating rumors and lies.

The truth about “The Billion-Dollar Myth” emerged at the end of July 2005, when the Los Angeles Times published an extensive coverage of the story, reporting that the Afro-American author Sophia Stewart didn’t attend her June 13 2005 hearing at the U.S. federal court building in downtown Los Angeles, and that Judge Margaret Morrow dismissed Stewart’s case for lack of evidence.

Stewart claimed that her 1983 science fiction work titled “The Third Eye” (copyrighted the following year, but remained unpublished) was submitted in 1986 to the Wachowski Brothers in response to an advertisement posted in a national magazine by them, soliciting science fiction manuscripts to make into comic books. Prior to The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers’ professional resume was limited to the screenplay for the lackluster 1995 Sylvester Stallone action film “Assassins,” a directing debut with a low-budget noir crime flick “Bound” in 1996. Given this “lack of experience” many believed Stewart’s fraud accusations, and her claims still ring true for many black authors today.

Rumors, however cannot change the facts: Sophia Stewart, the self-alleged mother of The Matrix, lost the trial in 2005. The case was never reopened, and although the author has enough supporters to state the contrary, there is no evidence that The Matrix was inspired by The Third Eye.