For the 2nd time a civil lawsuit filed in Alachua County, Florida against rapper Plies has been dismissed. The lawsuits stem from a concert shooting that left five people injured, but the saga is far from over. The plaintiffs have 20 days to amend their complaint and their lawyer says they will.
During a 2006 concert in Gainesville, Florida that also featured Lil Boosie, members of Plies' entourage are accused of letting off shots into a crowd at Club 238.
Plies plead guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm and was sentenced to probation. His brother Ronell Lawrence “Big Gates” Lavatte served three years in prison because he was a convicted felon.
Billy Dee Williams, Michael Lamar Daymon, Edwin Devasco Faircloth, Steve Ruben Jean-Jacques and Dorian Shannel Johnson are the plaintiffs in the case. They allege that Plies' music, lyrics and image as a goon contributed to the violence. They cite his song "I Am The Club" as an example of the rappers' violent lyrics.
Plies did not fire the shots, but they want him held liable nonetheless.
Their lawyer Christopher Chestnut says, "He [Plies] characterizes it as he is the principle, as if he is the guy, he's the gangster, he is the thug, he is the goon. Yes, that's what he's selling, that's why we're suing him."
They are also suing Plies' record imprint, Big Gates Records.
The rappers' lawyer, Robert Rush thinks the suit is only about money.
"I'm sure if he had no money, and he had no notoriety, and he wasn't making records there would be no lawsuit," Rush says.
The arrival of "The Dark Knight" in 2008 reminded cinema enthusiasts everywhere why filmmaker Christopher Nolan should be taken seriously. Comic book fans and mainstream moviegoers alike have patiently waited for an announcement regarding a third Nolan-helmed "Batman" film ("Batman Begins" was the first) ever since the closing credits on the most recent examination of Gotham City's gritty streets. Thankfully, Nolan himself is beginning to think about his "Dark Knight" follow-up as well.
At a press junket promoting Nolan's latest project, "Inception," the upcoming psychological thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the filmmaker told MTV News that he's already thinking about "Batman 3" — well, sort of. "Yes and no I suppose would be the answer," he said. "We know we're aiming for 2012 [as a release date]. That's been talked about. We're just working on the script, really. My brother [Jonah Nolan] has been hard at work on it for quite some time. It's based on a story that myself and David Goyer have written."
Nolan has previously discussed the third "Batman" film in broad strokes. For example, he's said that the Joker won't appear in the film, effectively ending speculation that the late Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning role would be recast. But beyond speaking about the project in general terms, Nolan isn't ready to discuss "Batman 3" in too much detail — though that fact should change once his work on "Inception" is fully finished in a few weeks.
"I've been very completely in this movie," he said about his work on "Inception," which arrives in theaters on July 16. "In a couple of weeks, I'll surface and figure out what I'm doing next and how I'm going to approach it."