Having already urged dismissal of a production company's breach-of-contract suit against Martin Scorsese, which alleges he backed out of a planned film despite signing a contract in 2022 to be an executive producer, the director's firm has countersued.
Plaintiff Op-Fortitude Ltd.'s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against Scorsese and his production company, Sikelia Productions Inc., alleges he reneged on a $1 million deal to executive produce the World War II movie, titled "Operation: Fortitude."
The British company maintains that the 80-year-old Scorsese accepted a $500,000 initial payment to put together a cast for the movie, then refused to give the money back after doing noting for more than a year.
But on Monday, the same day Scorsese and Sikelia filed an answer asking that the underlying case be tossed, Sikelia filed a countersuit alleging its own breach-of-contract claim and contending that Scorsese's company was shortchanged. Simon Afram of Op-Fortitude, who was to produce the movie, also is named in the countersuit.
"This case presents the classic example of the novice filmmaker who refuses to appreciate the stark difference between expectation and reality in the filmmaking business, to the detriment of all involved," the countersuit states. "Unfortunately, rather than accept this unavoidable truth, (Op- Fortitude) lashed out and terminated (its) agreement with Sikelia for the executive producing services of Martin Scorsese after only paying Sikelia half of what was owed under that agreement."
Sikelia believes that before Op-Fortitude approached the Scorsese entity, the production company spent several years attempting to develop the film without success, the countersuit states.
"They had failed to secure a director and failed to cast any lead roles," the countersuit states. "By the time they came to Sikelia, they were desperately searching for a way to inject significant interest into their project."
The January 2022 agreement between the parties contained no provisions about a timeline for performance, according to the countersuit. Scorsese's film "The Irishman," released in 2019 and nominated for 10 Academy Awards, started its development in 2007, the countersuit states.
According to the Op-Fortitude suit filed May 15, the company spent significant time and resources in partnering with Sikelia. Scorsese and their alleged refusal to perform has put the picture in jeopardy and resulted in the loss of financing, profits and other commercial opportunities.
The suit further maintains the plaintiff has suffered substantial delays in production "as a result of Mr. Scorsese's dereliction of his contractual duties."
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok