Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash, the movie based on former drummer Artimus Pyle's book, Street Survivor: Keeping the Beat in Lynyrd Skynyrd, will see the light of day.
Earlier today (Wednesday), the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s 2017 decision that stated the film violated a "blood oath" made in 1988 by bandmembers not to exploit the group's name after the 1977 plane crash that killed three of its members.
We reached out to Artimus tonight (Wednesday) and he told us, “Truth and justice has prevailed. There are many Skynyrd fans that would like to know what happened that fateful night. And now that the appellate courts have ruled favor of truth, we can finish the soundtrack for the movie, which will include music that I have recorded since the lawsuit showed up on my front door.
“I'm sure the fans will understand that we had to fight this frivolous lawsuit. We are victorious for the fans.
“I want to give a shout out to the 2nd Circuit Appeals Court judges and their wisdom and courage to uphold our constitution. You guys are on the lifetime 'Free Bird' list.”
Evan Mandel, the lawyer for Cleopatra Films, said the ruling is "a victory for filmmakers, artists, journalists, readers, viewers and the marketplace of ideas."
The lawsuit was brought by Ronnie Van Zant's widow, Judy, the heirs of Steve and Cassie Gaines, and guitarist Gary Rossington, the only surviving member of the crash who is still in the band. They have not commented on today’s developments.