Photo Credit: Ken Caillat
Fleetwood Mac producer Ken Caillat has sued the makers of the hit Broadway play ‘Stereophonic’ with accusations of ripping off his memoir.
Ken Caillat, the music producer best known for his work with Fleetwood Mac, has sued the makers of the hit Broadway play “Stereophonic” in federal court, alleging they ripped off his memoir about his work on Fleetwood Mac’s classic album, Rumours.
According to the lawsuit, filed in New York federal court on Tuesday (October 1) and reviewed by DMN, the play infringes on Caillat’s copyright and that of his memoir’s co-author, Steven Stiefel, by copying “the heart and soul” of their book, “Making Rumours.” Both stories follow a young sound engineer recording an album with a five-member, mixed-gender, British-American rock band in California between 1976 and 1977.
Brian Williams of Greenberg Gross, an attorney for Caillat and Stiefel, said that the makers of “Stereophonic” have “happily accepted the accolades and profits the play has generated” for their “sponging off” his clients’ memoir. The play, written by David Adjmi, debuted on Broadway in April and has won five Tony Awards this year, including Best Play. According to the lawsuit, “Stereophonic” has grossed over $20 million since its release.
Caillat and Stiefel published “Making Rumours” in 2012, a memoir they say “vividly portrays the making of the Rumours album from Mr. Caillat’s viewpoint,” especially from within a recording studio. The lawsuit cites numerous instances of similarities between the memoir and the play, including characters, storylines, settings, and even dialogue.
“[Stereophonic] essentially places the audience in the very chair where Mr. Caillat sat,” the complaint reads. “The connections between the play and Fleetwood Mac and the Rumours album are so obvious that multiple news outlets have called out the numerous similarities,” continues the filing. “Simply put, any attempt by Mr. Adjmi to disclaim ‘Stereophonic’ as not being about Fleetwood Mac and Rumours is disingenuous.”
Further, the lawsuit alleges that Adjmi’s plans to adapt “Stereophonic” into a film directly interfere with Caillat’s plans to adapt his memoir into a film. Caillat and Stiefel are asking for an unspecified amount in monetary damages and an order to block the “copying, publication, release, broadcast, performance, and other exploitation” of the Broadway play.
