The 2012 Luc Besson written film Lockout centered around a wrongly-accused inmate (Guy Pearce) who was offered a pardon if he would rescue the president’s daughter (Maggie Grace), who was being held captive in a space prison. If the plot sounds a bit familiar, then you’re not mistaken. A french court determined that the plot was just a bit too close to 1981’s Escape From New York after director John Carpenter filed a lawsuit. The court determined that the film “massively borrowed key elements” from the Kurt Russell classic (classic is our word, not theirs).
Besson disagreed with the decision, stating the lawsuit was “a hindrance to artistic freedom.” The La Femme Nakita and The Fifth Element director will be forced to pay Carpenter 450,000 Euros (approximately $502,875), which was raised from the original 85,000 Euros after Besson lost his first appeal.