Dyer

Defendants and appellants Helen Childress, Universal City Studios, Wind Down Films, Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and Ben Stiller, appeal the denial of a special motion to strike plaintiff and respondent Troy Dyer’s lawsuit for defamation and false light invasion of privacy as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16. We conclude the conduct at the heart of Dyer’s lawsuit, the assertedly false portrayal of Dyer’s persona in the movie Reality Bites, is not conduct in furtherance of defendants’ exercise of their constitutional right of petition or the constitutional right of free speech in connection with a public issue or an issue of public interest. (§ 425.16, subd. (e)(4).) Consequently, we affirm the denial of defendants’ special motion to strike.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Troy Dyer attended USC film school with defendant Helen Childress in the late 1980’s. In 1990, Childress left school to work on a screenplay that became the movie Reality Bites (Jersey Films; Universal Pictures 1994), which was released in theaters in 1994. In the movie, Ethan Hawke portrays a rebellious…