The Ten Commandments: Élie Chouraqui sues the producers of Pascal Obispo “for counterfeiting”

The rag burns between the filmmaker and the singer. Élie Chouraqui, the historic director of The Ten Commandments, created in October 2000 at the Palais des Sports in Paris, is suing the production of a show by Pascal Obispo, The Ten Commandments - The Desire to Love, demanding in particular cancel the holding of this musical comedy scheduled for March 2024, we learned Wednesday from his lawyer. “A summons was filed with the Paris judicial court last week,” Charles Morel told AFP, confirming information from the daily Le Parisien. In question therefore, the show being prepared by the singer and musician around the songs of the musical The Ten Commandments, the most beautiful story of all time created in 2000 by Élie Chouraqui with, among others, Pascal Obispo and the choreographer Kamel Ouali. Élie Chouraqui requests the cancellation of the show, as well as 352,000 euros in damages (426,000 including a subsidiary request), according to his lawyer. “I find it dishonest to take my work, to take everything I have done, but also what Kamel did (Ouali, Editor's note), what Sonia Rykiel did (for the costumes, Editor's note) (.. .) and to reclaim it by saying “it’s the 25th anniversary of the Ten Commandments, but it’s just me, there are no others anymore”,” explained Élie Chouraqui on C8 on Tuesday. “I take it as an attack on my quality as an author and above all an attack on me as a man,” he added.

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This is a “summons for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, parasitism and unfair competition,” according to the summons, a copy of which was consulted by AFP. Élie Chouraqui summons COMM, the producing company of the new show, but also all the co-authors of the 2000 musical: Pascal Obispo, Albert Cohen (co-producer), Patrice Guirao and Lionel Florence (for the lyrics of the songs), Kamel Ouali and rights holder of Sonia Rykiel. “We were authorized to assign a fixed day (an emergency procedure)” and, unless prior mediation, “a hearing date was set, December 7,” said Mr. Morel. Contacted by AFP, Pascal Obispo's entourage did not immediately comment.