Winona Ryder called to testify as expert in 'alienation'

By Eriq Gardner

We're halfway checked out for the holiday weekend, so let's end with bit of comedy.

A litigious videogame player is calling Winona Ryder to testify as an expert in "alienation."

Erik Estavillo has filed a $1 million lawsuit in California Superior Court against Activision Blizzard, publisher of "World of Warcraft," saying it "maintain(s) a harmful virtual environment to many of its customers by forcing them to follow the game's sneaky and deceitful practices."

The plaintiff says he suffers from several mental health problems brought on by WoW's "alienating" features, such as forcing beginners to walk or run to get from one point to another instead of speedier options available to those who master the game or buy an expansion pack. Estavillo says that the slow pace is "deceitful" because more time = more subscription revenue for Activision. 

Here's where Winona Ryder comes in.

Estavillo, who has previously sued Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, has heard that the actress is a fan of the J.D. Salinger book "The Catcher in the Rye."  Estavillo says that Ryder would be able to "explain the significance of alienation in 'Catcher in the Rye' and will also testify to how alienation in the book can tie to alienation in real live/video games such as World of Warcraft."

A point scored for imagination, but a judge will end this litigious game in short order.