A comprehensive look at how “some” in the movie industry stole my original script for the Feature film John Q starring Denzel Washington and how the court system protected the industry..Lets start at the beginning. The facts of my case against Newline Cinema et’al are undisputed. When I found out that Newline Cinema stole my work and deprived me the opportunity to take care of my family and a significant amount of “loss” residual income generated off my work (Hundreds of Millions of Dollars) It created shock and awe to my conscience and it was a painfully dark time; it knocked me down, but I didn’t stay down! Because there will never be success without failure. This is my incredible Journey fighting against the machine…In order to survive summary judgment in court in a copyright case you only need to prove 4 basic elements or prongs..
I am the one, I lived the film, the creative spark for John Q
1998 KHOG ©
I requested the WGA West to hire Denzel
2002 John Q ©
Key Points of My Case:
Originality
I am the original creator of the “John Q” story, inspired by my real-life experiences in 1998 (KHOG) with my own child.
Similarity
Even the Illinois District Court agreed the scripts were similar. The jury should have decided the level of similarity. Key scenes and themes from my script were copied into “John Q.”
Access
The Writers Guild of America West had access to my script in 1998.
Discovery and Due Process
The defendants never fully complied with the discovery process, denying me due process and a fair trial by jury.
Perjury and Fraudulent Evidence
Defendants, including James Kearns, committed perjury by falsely claiming the script was written and submitted in 1993. They presented fraudulent evidence to the court.
I am the One I am the original creator of the “John Q” 2002 Feature Film, inspired by my real-life experiences in my original 1998 script called Kharisma Heart of Gold aka (KHOG©) with my own child who had a heart condition.
Even the Illinois District Court agreed the scripts were similar. The Jury should have decided the level of similarity. Key scenes and themes from my script KHOG were copied into “John Q.”
THE ILLINOIS DISTRICT COURT EVEN AGREED THE SCRIPTS WERE SIMILAR! WHAT EVER LEVEL OF “SIMILARITY” SHOULD HAVE BEEN DECIEDED BY A JURY! THERE SHOULD BE NO SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE SCRIPTS UNLESS JAMES KEARNS, WGA WEST, NEWLINE ET’AL READ AND STUDIED MY SCRIPT, BUT FOR THE COURTS TO SAY “WELL FORGET THOSE SIMILARITIES BECAUSE IT IS A SCENE A’FAIRE”. SIMILARITIES IS A KEY PRONG IN ORDER TO PROVE SIMILARITY. ISN’T THIS EVIDENCE?
In the U.S. Scene A’Faire also refers to a principle in copyright law in which certain elements of a creative work are held to be not protected when they are mandated by or customary to the genre. (Note: This standard doesn’t apply because I lived the Heart experience and wrote it down on paper first. Kearns did not!)
Similarities between KHOG 1998© and John Q 2000©. Please note the film John Q. was released in 2002
Tillman 1998© KHOG Doctors tell parents to take child home to die. I lived It! Painful to watch. Denzel even spoke on it but it originated from KHOG 1998© Proof that taking the child home to die was the major theme outside of no insurance which should prove similar scripts which James Kearns Stole and re-copyrighted it in 2000 for a 2002 movie release. This is an extra layer of similarity. Remember how Denzel got hired? Because of me not by chance.
Talks about transferring child to another hospital
Talks about transferring child to another hospital
Similarity – No insurance. I put on my 1998 copyright that this film was about not having insurance for a sick child on my valid copyright.
Tillman’s Notes: Another similarity: 2002 John Q Wife snapped, told character to fix situation. I know that defendants are crafty, and they may not always steal word for word, but even paraphrasing is illegal if same meaning. This is clear evidence of copying! Courts can’t legitimize the defendant’s theft by saying “well they only took this much so its okay”. No! What they took made the darn film…I wrote all of it…I’m the source code, the creator…the One!
How much of my work they gonna steal? You think I’m not going to keep fighting and I got to watch John Q every time it plays on TV? Friends and family calling me every time it airs… Look what I wrote in KHOG 1998©, did Denzel’s weak ass say he was going to trade his life or not, after 2000 John Q©? What I lived and wrote in 1998© KHOG I said and specifically used the words trading my life…I want a jury trial! Didn’t Denzel try to trade his life in the film? Look at this, the father goes to the hospital to say good bye to his son, this is what I wrote in 1998 KHOG©.
Trading his life, is trading his life…How did this theme end up in both scripts KHOG 98/John Q 2000©.
What Kearns Stole in John Q. 2000© and a 2002 film release of John Q (Note: the court ignored this glaring similarity) Trading one’s life for the other…and the actual sequence of events. How can these two works be the same unless they studied my script? They had a copy of mine, I didn’t have a copy of theirs.
John Q 2002 It’s a Miracle
Note: I cried because it was real! But that’s okay I didn’t give up the fight and at the
end of the day that’s all that matters! I could have sought retribution, but I chose non-violence!
I had the pleasure of meeting with Kimberly Elise after the film’s release, and we had a very productive conversation about the events that took place.
*Remember the intro to the John Q movie, according to what I wrote and lived; I was in the car accident and wrote it in 1998.
Tillman’s Original KHOG ©1998
What James Kearns & Defendants et al. did was steal and misappropriate
illegally in the making of John Q ©2000/2002. This is the actual page out of the script
from the film John Q Starring Denzel….Why is it so similar to what I wrote?
Proof that I should have had a trial by jury. Three scripts with the name Quincy in it. Quincy was also Denzel’s name in the film, even on the same page. The Problem is Quincy is a real person who happens to be my childhood friend. My real name is Chitunda but my friends call me Tune. So when the Judges say Tune in their opinions they are saying my name. Why would the name Quincy be in all the scripts?
My 1998© KHOG Kharisma Heart of Gold Original Script page 101
2006 Court Submission by Kearns (below)
The Writers Guild of America West had access to my script KHOG 1998©.
Anytime you read the court say that “Tillman had no evidence”, this should prove conspiracy right here.
The Courts and the Judges keep saying, “…well the scripts are similar but these are just scenes a’faire”. But it goes beyond that because the defendants had access to my original script KHOG in 1998 before John Q was created in 2000. So I have prior creation.
The defendants never fully complied with the discovery process, denying me due process and a fair trial by jury.
This means I didn’t get due process nor a trial by jury, the judge ordered defendants to comply and they didn’t.
The court was aggressive and harsh with me in their tone and demeaner, but was extremely gracious and accommodating toward the defendants.
THE COURT: ORDERED DEFENDENTS TO COMPLY WITH DISCOVERY HERE’S THE UNDISPUTED PROOF!
Even The Federal Court Called the defendants et’al on their B.S and finally ordered them to comply with discovery after I kept pressing…
My former attorney Nix arguing that the defendants never answered a single question in court so how can the judges rule a summary judgment against me without discovery being fully briefed and closed? This is the judge in his own words saying defendants never answered a single question so why did the court rule against me? My whole case was sabotaged by the courts I never got proper discovery.
The Set-Up (A Few Quick Points)
THE COURT: Ordered my former attorney Nix and myself to use our SAC (Second Amended Compliant) as our response to defendants’ motions to dismiss, we complied with that order then the Court used that to dismiss my case saying we didn’t get permission filing an implicit SAC? Implicitly? This was crazy! Don’t you see how the court sabotaged my case? Here the court is ordering us to use our SAC as the response to defendants’ motions to dismiss on July 14th 2005 Per court we filed it Aug 5th 2005.
The defendants WGA WEST even acknowledge that the court instructed and ordered us to proceed In that manner.
We filed our SAC Second Amended Compliant per Judges order!
THE COURT: Then penalized us for following those instructions. UNBELIEVABLE
Question: If you just read that My SAC Second Amended Compliant was denied by the court
how was Denzel Washington let out of the case per SAC (Second Amended Complaint)?
Judge Kennelly issued an opinion on 3-7-2008 that my amended complaint was denied? Document # 229. Right!
The court judges Nordberg & Kennelly denied our motions to file our SAC in response to the defendants motions to dismiss. I continuously fought for discovery and a trial by jury but never got it?
But we were given authorization (Myself & Nix) by the court. This proves that the court was erroneous against me. This is wrong!
Yet Here Judge Delow (The Court) authorized us to use our second amended complaint as the response to defendants’ motions to dismiss.
THE COURT: Keeps talking about these stupid ass articles when I pressed Variety Daily Variety
Variety and Daily Variety Executives on the 1993 Variety articles said they said they would testify that those articles were fraudulent and not of their creation. Here’s the proof so why does the judge keep saying how authentic these articles are in order to hurt or damage my case! I’m not afraid to fight back…It’s right here in black and white, so what was I supposed to do? I raised a question as to their authenticity, this required a jury trial.
Defendants Committed Perjury
Question: How many times can defendants change their sworn declaration or testimony
without us (myself and former attorney Brian T. Nix) being able to challenge it?
Please compare what James Kearns Swore to in court. James Kearns committed perjury.
In court he swore he © John Q in 1993 Please Believe!
Go back and look at Kearns # 3 He swore he © John Q. in 1993 but here he said he created it in 2000©
Kearns at #4 swore he submitted John Q to the WGA West in 1993 but what does the actual submission state? It says the year 2000 John Q Submission…
SIDE NOTE: JAMES KEARNS WAS ALLOWED TO ENTER A NEW SWORN DECLARATION INTO COURT WITHOUT US BEING ABLE TO CROSS EXAMINE KEARNS?
Kearns 2nd sworn declaration.
Look at Kearns Declaration at # 3 When and where was island pictures in 1993?
Look at # 5 Kearns swore he registered and submitted John Q with the WGA West in 1993
But here it says submitted in 2000 isn’t this proof of perjury?
Here it proves Kearns submitted John Q to the WGA West in the year 2000 not 1993 or 1994
Look how many times defendants swore John Q was written in 1993 or submitted to the WGA West in 1993? It says the year 2000 John Q which like I swore is 2 years after my 1998© KHOG and the defendants had access to my script first in 1998 and this set off the chain of events.
Look at Kearns # 10 on Kearns 1st sworn declaration dated 1-19-2007. He swore the Daily Variety article was written in 1993 trying to prove he actually wrote John Q in Nov 15th 1993. Right? Okay! This is the actual article defendants provided to us, you tell me if this looks like a legit magazine article? Or something to wipe with? This is the 1993 Article that the defendants and courts say proves Kearns wrote John Q in 1993? WTF!
Look at Kearns # 6 in his 2nd sworn declaration didn’t he just swear he didn’t work for the WGA West, so he couldn’t possibly have seen Tillman’s work?
As you can see, they had access to my script, which was at the WGA West office where Kearns worked and they paid him. So this was a reasonable opportunity to view my work. The WGA West was the connection.
Look how much Kearns made this just a few payments..
Imagine Denzel’s payments! They are crazy. FYI why doesn’t this show a 1993 WGA payment to Kearns?
Get the Book!
This is the actual date that the company that made John Q was created…
After the court ruled against me, Angela Clare, a Newline employee, was now allowed to say she applied for the John Q © in 2000 and not James Kearns? Wow! We never cross-examined this employee, so how did this declaration stand? I demanded a trial by jury. All these years, Kearns has been swearing he © John Q? Submitting it to the WGA West? If Kearns submitted John Q to the WGA West in 2000, right, so what if Angela Claire submitted the copyright via Newline in 2000? Are these not two separate transactions and events taking place at two different locations? This is why I demanded a jury trial! (Do you see the contradiction?) But in the meantime, please support the true author of John Q , aka KHOG 1998©!
Then look at the date, this was submitted during Christmas when the court was not in session.
How did she file this declaration on 12-11-2007 when the case was dismissed on 1-8-2007?
Please support the original author of KHOG 1998© aka John Q 2000©
Had meeting at LA Times discussing the theft of the John Q Film. When they found out the writers guild of America west was involved they refused to do the story because they spouse that their “spouse” worked there and that it was a conflict of interest.
Please play the audio below to listen to the oral arguments made in court.
Undeniable proof that the Court System Systematically alongside Time-warner Newline Writers Guild of America west Variety Hollywood Reporter Defendants lawyers my own lawyers James Kearns, Denzel Cassevetes, Burg Koules, and others, conspired against me to not only steal my script KHOG 1998 but cover it up but I fought back. You be the jury if you agree with me. Please purchase the book, merchandise, and donate. Thank you.
This was my original idea that I pitched to the Writer’s Guild of America West in 1998. They took my idea for the movie “Missing” and used it without my permission.
Missing is an American mystery thriller drama television series, starring Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis and Sean Bean. The series ran from March 15, 2012 to May 17, 2012 on ABC.[1][2][3] ABC announced on May 17, 2011, that the series would air as a midseason replacement in 2012.[4] Ten episodes were ordered for the first season.[5] ABC canceled the series on May 11, 2012.[6] The show was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2012 – one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Judd) and the other for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.
Proof the The Writers Guild of America West [WGA WEST] Launders and steal Films and Screenplays from “Creatives”
I wrote Missing in 1998 because like many artists i was trying to get a Development Deal. This was my original idea.
See my Missing 1998 copyright.
The WGA West had a copy.
Proof the WGA West had access to Missing 1998.
Please review the two emails below. Note the name of the script “Missing, The Search Is On”
This is the certificate that I received from the Writers Guild of America West, showing my ownership of the script titled “Missing, The Search Is On”.
I received this email from an independent film maker who found this mini series on the ABC website. This stands as proof that Time Warner, ABC, and the Writers Guild used the exact title of the copyrighted screenplay that I pitched to them in their marketing. This was not an independent creation by Time Warner, ABC, or the Writers guild. This was my action packed script about a character searching for their missing child.
