A federal
judge has ordered actor Leonardo DiCaprio to be deposed in a defamation lawsuit
brought by a former Stratton Oakmont executive over his alleged depiction in
the 2013 Martin Scorsese film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
U.S.
Magistrate Judge Steven Locke in Central Islip, New York, on Thursday said
DiCaprio must be made available for questioning, which was opposed by Viacom
Inc’s Paramount Pictures Corp, DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions and other
defendants.
The
plaintiff, Andrew Greene, sued in 2014 for more than $50 million, claiming that
he was defamed in the film through the portrayal by actor P.J. Byrne of a
morally and ethically challenged character named Nicky “Rugrat” Koskoff.
Paramount
has said Koskoff was a “composite character” inspired by multiple individuals,
including Greene.
DiCaprio,
41, played Jordan Belfort, a stock swindler who founded Stratton Oakmont and
whose 2007 memoir was a basis for the film. Greene was a childhood friend of
Belfort.
In opposing
a deposition, defense lawyers said DiCaprio did not write the screenplay, and
that there was no claim he had any role in deciding whether alleged defamatory
content should be included in or excluded from the film.
Greene’s
lawyers said they had already questioned Scorsese and screenwriter Terence
Winter, and that both testified that they met regularly with DiCaprio to
discuss the “Wolf” script.
Louis
Petrich, a lawyer for the defendants, declined to comment.
The film was
nominated for five Academy Awards, including DiCaprio as best actor, Scorsese
as best director and Winter for the screenplay, but did not win any.
Locke’s
order does not say when DiCaprio will be questioned.
The case is
Greene v Paramount Pictures Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District
of New York, No. 14-01044.
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