Filmmaker Sues to Stop Chris Rock Documentary Release

A Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker filed an injunction this week to stop the release of Chris Rock's new film about hair, claiming copyright infringement.
The court filing against Chris Rock, HBO, and the domestic and foreign theatrical distributors demands the film not be released until a verdict is reached by jury trial.
On Monday, Kimbell filed a $5 million copyright infringement lawsuit charging that her film "My Nappy ROOTS: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage" was allegedly copied by Rock after he and his production team viewed the film in June 2007.
Kimbell, in a statement, said that after hearing the buzz about the film, Rock requested a private screening at Paramount Studios. Unaware that he had a deal to produce a Black hair documentary for HBO, Kimbell agreed to let him see the film.
Chris Rock's "Good Hair" is scheduled for limited theatrical release on Friday, Oct. 9.
Kimbell says her film was first conceptualized in 2002 when her daughter Brighton, then 16-years-old, wrote an essay on the topic. Mentored by her mother, over the years the award-winning film evolved from an essay, to a short film, and now a feature-length film.
Kimbell says her work "is a definitive, feature-length documentary film that examines the legacy of Black hair care through cultural, societal, and political issues in the African American community over time.
"It covers a diverse array of hairstyles from dreads to braids, twists, perms, jeri curls, weaves, and the afro that bridge hundreds of years of African American culture.
Specifically the film addresses "good hair versus bad hair" and "the role media plays as influencer."
She said the illustration of emerging industry trends and hair artistry from top hair shows throughout the United States allows infinite travel from the past, present, and to the future with celebrities (Vivica A. Fox, Patti LaBelle, Niecy Nash, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, to name a few), historians, authors, journalists, comedians, hair stylists, barbers, and Black hair care industry business icons.
Kimbell's company, virginMOONentertainment, inc., is an African American owned, Los Angeles based independent production company.
For more information on "My Nappy ROOTS: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage," visit www.mynappyroots.com