DiCaprio Ordered To Testify In 'Wolf Of Wall Street' Defamation Case
By Alison Main
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Leonardo DiCaprio must testify in a case linked to "The Wolf of Wall Street" after a man filed a lawsuit claiming he was defamed in the 2013 movie.
Andrew Greene, former executive of the stock brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont, is seeking $25 million in damages in a lawsuit filed in 2014 against Paramount Pictures, as well as other producers.
The lawsuit says the movie wrongfully portrayed him as a "criminal, a drug user and a degenerate" through the character, Nicky Koskoff, according to the complaint.
DiCaprio's attorneys have argued that his knowledge of screenwriting and the improvisation by other actors in the film would make his understanding of the script's development and the creative decisions made by other actors "too limited to justify the burden of deposition."
Attorneys for the plaintiff insisted that DiCaprio's account is necessary because the actor met with director and producer Martin Scorsese, and screenwriter Terence Winter in the script development process to discuss scenes and revisions. Scorsese and Winter have given depositions in relation to the case, according to court documents.
Greene's lawyers offered to meet DiCaprio in Los Angeles if necessary to accommodate the actor's busy schedule. In their letter to the judge, the attorneys for the plaintiff stated that the actor should have the ability to travel easily based on his frequent trips between California and New York.
New York Eastern District Magistrate Judge Steven Locke granted the motion to the prosecution in court on June 16.
Aaron Goldsmith, one of Greene's attorneys, said they look forward to bringing justice on behalf of their client.
A representative for DiCaprio did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
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