Black’s vocal skills have featured in several CGI animations, but it was his lively starring role in this affectionate semi-spoof of martial arts movies that launched a billion-dollar DreamWorks Animation franchise. Black voices the eponymous hero, a lowly Chinese panda trained by a kung fu master for an epic battle with an army of animal rivals.
A 51-year-old Massachusetts man who claims he first came up with the character and story for the 2008 animated movie Kung Fu Panda has been convicted of wire fraud and perjury charges.
Jayme Gordon had filed a lawsuit in 2011 designed to obtain a multimillion-dollar settlement from DreamWorks Animation SKG.
Prosecutors said Gordon fabricated and backdated drawings of characters similar to those in Kung Fu Panda, lied repeatedly during his deposition and destroyed computer evidence.
Prosecutors said beyond what they called superficial similarities, the panda characters and story that Gordon created have little in common with DreamWorks‘ movie.
A federal jury convicted Gordon on Friday on four counts of wire fraud and three counts of perjury.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti Saris scheduled sentencing for March 30.
