LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST MCA, REDFORD : OPENING SALVO IN ‘BEANFIELD WAR’

“Silkwood” producer Larry Cano filed suit Wednesday to try to halt production of “The Milagro Beanfield War,” currently shooting in New Mexico under Robert Redford’s direction.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court here, charges that “Milagro” is based on the life of New Mexican land-grant activist Reies Lopez Tijerina and that Cano owns the dramatic rights to Tijerina’s life story.

According to the suit, Tijerina was to be the central character in a movie called “King Tiger” and the future of that project has dimmed with the production of “Milagro.” The suit charges copyright infringement, unfair competition, defamation and invasion of privacy. Named as defendants are MCA/Universal Pictures, Esparza Productions, Redford and screenwriter David S. Ward.

In 1979, Redford and co-producer Moctesuma Esparza optioned the rights to John Nichols’ 1974 novel, “The Milagro Beanfield War.” Both the novel and Ward’s screen adaptation revolve around a native New Mexican who stands up to developers for the right to water a tiny beanfield.

Attorney Michael Schillaci, representing Cano and fellow plaintiffs Tijerina, director Frank Zuniga and Ralph Rivera, told The Times that they believe the “Milagro” script draws heavily on the “life story and persona” of Tijerina, “clearly the pivotal point in the entire drama of the modern New Mexico land grant conflict.”

According to the suit, Columbia Pictures “evidenced substantial interest” in the “King Tiger” project until the announcement of the Redford-Esparza production.

The suit contends that Ward once expressed interest in writing the script of “King Tiger” if he were allowed to direct.

“We know for a fact that Ward had access to a treatment (based on Tijerina’s life),” Schillaci said in an interview. The plaintiffs believe that Ward also had access to a completed “King Tiger” screenplay once submitted to Universal, which is financing “Milagro,” Schillaci said.

Although the suit seeks an injunction against further “Milagro” shooting, the primary objective, said Schillaci, is to force the producers to turn over a “Milagro” shooting script and any other drafts for a “detailed comparison” with the “King Tiger” materials. Despite written requests, Schillaci said, “We have not been able to obtain copies.”

At press time, Redford, Esparza and Ward could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Universal said the studio was unaware of the suit, which was announced at a press conference Wednesday.

However, a “Milagro” spokesman told The Times Wednesday from the production’s Santa Fe headquarters: “Ward did not write an original screenplay. He wrote a script based on John Nichols’ novel. And if you’ve read the script and the novel, you can see that everything in the script is in the novel. If anything, they should be suing John Nichols.

“The onus is on them to show the similarities between Tijerina and Joe Mondragon (the central character in ‘Milagro’). It’s up to them to show the similarities, isn’t it? It really looks like a publicity stunt. (But) we’d have to read the complaint and hear what they have to say before we’d comment (more) on it.”

Schillaci responded, “We also feel the book (by Nichols) is in reality based on Tijerina’s life,” and said that Nichols may be named later as a defendant.