Photo Credit: Maharram Hasanli
Seven months later, “Someone You Loved” songwriter Romans and Paramount Pictures have officially settled a lawsuit centering on the allegedly unauthorized use of two works – one recorded by Rihanna – in 2025’s Smurfs.
39-year-old Romans (real name Sam Roman) and Paramount Pictures just recently put the finishing touches on their “confidential settlement,” which they’d initially disclosed in July. Unsurprisingly, the litigants opted against publicly disclosing that settlement’s specifics – though they did describe the resolution as “conditioned on certain actions to be taken in the near future.”
Consequently, they also asked the court to “retain jurisdiction for the next 60 days to enforce the” terms at hand. Assuming the stretch doesn’t bring any issues, then, the copyright complaint will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
The above-noted absence of settlement particulars aside, given the claims in Romans’ initial suit, it seems possible that the agreement could potentially involve a sizable payment. The way the Pinner, Middlesex-born professional told the story at 2026’s beginning, Paramount had in late 2022 approached him to write (and produce) a song for the animated film Smurfs.
And as part of this early pitch, the company allegedly stressed that none other than Rihanna (who produced and starred in Smurfs) would record the work. Additionally, per the plaintiff, the recording was to be “included on the soundtrack album,” released as a single, and boosted by “a full marketing campaign” – with a “push to get the song nominated for an Academy Award” likewise factoring into the effort.
Owing to these alleged representations, Romans “spent the next two and a half years writing, producing, and perfecting ‘Anyone’” as well as a different work, “Always on the Outside,” that James Corden eventually recorded for Smurfs.
The plaintiff “essentially saw this second track as a smaller part of the larger project, which he agreed to join based on Paramount’s prior representations,” according to the suit.
Said second song ultimately made its way onto the official soundtrack, but a Corden release doesn’t scratch the commercial itch in quite the same way as a Rihanna project.
(Additionally, songwriter Maya Kurchner, a non-party here, co-wrote “Anyone” with Romans. “[B]ut she did not license the song to Paramount either,” the plaintiff stated.)
Meanwhile, during the 30-month window in question, talks concerning “written licenses and work-for-hire agreements were always based on a compensation model whereby ‘Anyone,’ the track performed by Rihanna, would be released on the Film’s soundtrack and that Paramount would heavily promote the track and soundtrack as featuring this new recording from Rihanna.
“In other words, the economic model was always based on smaller upfront payments in favor of significant backend royalties,” the filing party summed up.
Bearing those details in mind, it didn’t sit right with Romans when Paramount, “[j]ust weeks before the release of” Smurfs, indicated that “Anyone” would appear in the movie but wouldn’t receive a standalone release whatsoever.
No streaming royalties, no Academy Award push, no Rihanna hit, no deal: “[N]egotiations completely halted” due to the 11th hour pivot, to which the allegedly shortchanged songwriter responded by demanding “significant additional upfront compensation.”
Although it probably goes without saying in light of the suit, a licensing deal didn’t materialize. Instead, Paramount allegedly “ignored” Romans and “just went ahead and released” Smurfs with his songs.
“At no time did Plaintiff consent in any way—expressly or impliedly—to Paramount releasing the songs and recordings without a written agreement, much less releasing them without paying Plaintiff a dime,” the original action alleged.
Closing on the most interesting part of the dispute, Paramount allegedly cited frustration with Rihanna’s performance when explaining the lack of payment to Romans.
“[T]he studio was very frustrated by the money it had supposedly spent on Rihanna’s participation in the Film but Paramount felt that it had not gotten an appropriate return from her,” Romans recounted of a discussion with the company’s legal team. “In other words, Paramount decided to punish Plaintiff—and brazenly infringe his copyrights by using them without consent and without paying him a dime—because the studio was mad at Rihanna.”
Why the purported clash with Rihanna? Well, the Fenty Beauty founder “had supposedly required Paramount to waste a lot of money and go over budget on the movie.”
It is, of course, far easier to forgive and forget when things go swimmingly. But in the end, Smurfs made $124 million at the box office on a $58 million budget and was nominated for a pair of Razzies as opposed to an Academy Award.
