Two brothers who assert that their copyrighted screenplay The Last Samurai was stolen to make the 2003 film of the same name can go to trial against the production company and its principals, but not distributor Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. or writer John Logan, a federal judge has ruled.

In a Feb. 14 order on summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez in Los Angeles found that Aaron and Matthew Benay, who had pitched their screenplay idea to The Bedford Falls Co. and one of its executives in 2000, could pursue their contract claims against the production company and its two partners, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. Gutierrez granted summary judgment, however, for Warner Bros. and Logan.

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