Sylvester Stallone faces lawsuit over Expendables plot

Sylvester Stallone is facing a lawsuit from a writer who claims the actor stole the plot for ensemble action blockbuster The Expendables from a short story he filed with the US copyright office in 2006. According to the suit, Marcus Webb's story, The Cordoba Caper, tells of a gang of mercenaries who band together to overthrow General Garza, a dictator who rules over a small Latin American country. The Expendables stars Stallone (who directed and co-wrote the movie with Doom writer Dave Callaham) as the leader of a gang of mercenaries who are hired to overthrow the dictator of a small Latin American country. The dictator's name is also General Garza. Webb, who says a screenplay based on his story was widely distributed in Hollywood prior to the start of production on Stallone's movie, alleges that The Expendables screenplay is "strikingly similar and in some places identical" to his work. The suit covers Stallone, Callaham, production companies Millennium Films and Nu Image and distributor Lions Gate, all of which have declined, or are yet to, comment.