OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Kissinger N. Sibanda is a lawyer who, in 2011, published a novel titled The Return to Gibraltar. In this suit, in which he proceeds without counsel, he brings a claim against various companies and people involved in the 2019 movie Gemini Man on the ground that they infringed his copyright in The Return to Gibraltar. In addition, he brings a claim against those parties and their lawyer under 18 U.S.C. §241, alleging that they schemed to deprive him of a legal remedy for the copyright infringement by filing a declaratory judgment action in a different District. Now pending are motions filed by those Defendants who have appeared both to dismiss Sibanda’s claims and to impose sanctions on him. See ECF Nos. 73, 80, 94, 97. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS all of their motions. BACKGROUND The following facts — taken (unless otherwise noted) from the First Amended Complaint, ECF No. 40 (“FAC”), and documents attached thereto or incorporated therein — are assumed to be true for purposes of this motion and construed in the light most favorable to Sibanda. See, e.g., Kleinman v. Elan Corp., PLC, 706 F.3d 145, 152 (2d Cir. 2013). Sibanda, a South African national who lives in New Jersey, published a book titled The Return to Gibraltar in 2011. FAC 14. The book features “an African-American man who is cloned and used in a time-travelling program without his permission.” Id. In marketing the book, Sibanda noted that the actor Will Smith would be “a good fit” to play the lead character if the book were adapted as a movie. Id.; see also FAC Ex. C. In 2019, Defendants Skydance Productions, Gemini Pictures, David Ellison, Darren Lemke, David Benioff, and Billy Ray (collectively, the “Skydance Defendants”) released the movie Gemini Man, which starred Will Smith. FAC 15. The movie features “a former hitman who is targeted by a younger clone of himself while on the run from the government.” Id. The screenplay for the movie was first written in 1997, sold to Walt Disney the same year, and then to the Skydance Defendants in 2016. Id. 17. The Skydance Defendants initially cast Clint Eastwood, who is white, for the lead role, but ultimately opted for Smith, who is African American. Id.
15-17. Citing “the transformation of the Causcasian lead into a black lead based on ‘The Return to Gibraltar’s’ narrative, characters, cultural ethos and context,” as well as other similarities between the protagonists and narratives of the two works, Sibanda alleges that Gemini Man “lifted” elements of his book. Id.
