Matt Zicari, known professionally as Matt Zane, has responded to a $1 million lawsuit filed by Static-X accusing him of stealing unauthorized footage. He addressed the accusations in a statement shared on Instagram.
The statement addressed both the future of his film project and the specific allegations made against him in the lawsuit.
“Here’s my official statement: this changes nothing,” Matt Zane said. “I’m still making the movie, I’m still releasing the movie and I will do it by any means necessary, even if I have to send all of you a private link.”
He then turned to the legal accusations themselves, noting the constraints he faces while the matter proceeds.
“As far as the allegations are concerned, I gotta talk to a lawyer before I can address each one of them specifically,” he continued. “I’m probably not going to be able to talk about a lot of it. But I will say this — I absolutely, 100 percent did not steal any footage. That is absolutely absurd.”
The dispute stretches back further than Zane’s Instagram statement suggests. It is rooted in a working relationship that soured well before any legal filings.
Static-X, bassist Tony Campos and current vocalist and manager Edsel Dope filed the lawsuit on August 20 in a California court, naming Zicari, also known as “Lord Zane,” as the defendant. Zane had previously been hired to work on an official Static-X documentary titled “Evil Disco,” funded by the band and its management. He was reportedly paid around $75,000 for his contributions before voluntarily exiting the project roughly a year before the suit was filed.
Static-X’s complaint alleges that Zane began circulating unreleased material from “Evil Disco” after his departure, including unedited outtake footage and behind-the-scenes clips involving band members and Edsel Dope. The suit also claims Zane retained additional archival material tied to the band, potentially including old emails and other data stored on formats such as Mini DV tapes, DVDs, CD-ROMs and hard drives.
The legal filing asserts several claims against Zane, including copyright infringement, breach of contract, breach of confidence and false light or invasion of privacy. Static-X is seeking a permanent injunction along with damages exceeding $1 million. The band’s camp claims losses from Zane’s conduct already surpass $250,000.
The lawsuit also intersects with a separate, longer-running feud tied to Zane’s own documentary project chronicling the final years of late Static-X frontman Wayne Static and his wife, Tera Wray. That project has faced opposition from both the Static estate and the band’s camp. The tension surrounding it appears to have fed directly into the dispute over the “Evil Disco” footage.
