Appeals court revives 'Perfect Storm' lawsuit

BRADENTON, FLORIDA - A federal appeals court in Atlanta has agreed to hear arguments in a lawsuit that alleges two fishermen were negatively portrayed without consent in the movie ``The Perfect Storm.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The court agreed Friday to revive the suit filed by the fishermen&#39;s families, which was dismissed last year in Orlando when a judge ruled that no law prohibited filmmakers from making up events. A hearing is set for March 14. <br> <br> Jodi Tyne, the wife of the late fishing boat captain Frank William ``Billy&#39;&#39; Tyne Jr., sued Time Warner Entertainment Co. and the two companies that produced the film in U.S. District Court in 2000 contending Tyne was cast in a negative light in the film. The suit also charged the film was produced without her consent and her privacy was violated. <br> <br> The family of one of Tyne&#39;s crew members, Dale Murphy, later joined the suit. <br> <br> The film, based on Sebastian Junger&#39;s best-selling book by the same name, tells the story of Tyne&#39;s final swordfishing expedition in October 1991 into the heart of storms that converged in the North Atlantic. <br> <br> Tyne and five crew members on the Gloucester, Mass.-based vessel all drowned, and the boat, the Andrea Gail, was never found. <br> <br> Tyne and her two daughters are seeking a portion of the $150 million made from the movie. According to the complaint, the film depicted Tyne, who was portrayed by actor George Clooney, as ``unprofessional, unseaworthy, and incompetent.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A lawyer for Jodi Tyne, of Bradenton, said all filmmakers should be concerned about how the suit turns out. <br> <br> ``To have your loved one fictionalized for the purpose of exploiting some aspect of your life just to make money harms the subject, the subject&#39;s family and the public,&#39;&#39; said Steve Calvacca. <br> <br> But Warner Bros. attorneys said the studio did not illegally profit off family members. <br> <br> ``We didn&#39;t make an action figure out of them and we didn&#39;t put them on a Wheaties box,&#39;&#39; Tampa attorney Gregg Thomas said. ``We simply used their story.&#39;&#39;