Sometimes a character is spoofed in another movie. Sometimes it is simply a tribute that is scary close, but very rarely would you see the same actor playing the same character with the same name unless it was a sequel. But somehow Lionsgate appears to have done just that.
I was one of the hardy souls who endured the recent Larry The Cable Guy atrocity Witless Protection, and when I wasn’t bleeding out the eyes or praying aloud for the sweet release of death, I was noticing something peculiar: The film has an FBI character named Alonzo Mosely, which was also the name of an FBI character in Midnight Run. In and of itself, that could be a coincidence. But take into account that both Alonzo Moselys are played by the same actor, Yaphet Kotto, and that both are responsible for tracking down on-the-run witnesses who are supposed to testify against the Mafia, and you realize this was done on purpose.
I would love to see how Lionsgate can avoid the harsh glare of Universal in this situation. This seems pretty cut and dry to me.
If Universal does win (I still dont see how they cant), they hope to have the movie pulled from theaters and stop the release of the DVD due out in June. However I would foresee some deal being brokered to ease the pain of this gag that has backfired so harshly.
