The Lost King is a 2021 film about the discovery of King Richard III's remains under a car lot in England, located largely due to the efforts of amateur historian Philippa Langley, who was sidelined by credit-taking officials from the University of Leicester. The movie came and went with audiences to no great acclaim, drawing only $6m at the box office and described by the Rotten Tomatoes consensus as "curiously bland compared to the remarkable real-life story it dramatizes." One of the university officials, Richard Taylor, is suing the producers because it makes him look like an asshole.
William Bennett KC said his client Mr Taylor was presented as being "dismissive, patronising and misogynistic" towards Ms Langley.
In written submissions, the barrister said: "The relevant context is the 'good versus bad' narrative, which runs through the film.
"Ms Langley is portrayed as the gutsy underdog heroine struggling against opposition and the claimant as the arrogant villain.
"He not only takes steps to make sure that people do not know about her role but takes the credit, which was rightfully hers, for himself and the university."
You can watch the trailer below and guess which of the several bland, dismissive men depicted in it has sued his way to the Streisand Effect.
