Perhaps the most anticipated premiere of the entire Official Section of this cannes film festival (which was declared inaugurated yesterday with Jeanne-du-Barry and an ovation to Johnny Depp) be Killers of the Flower Moon. A monumental film of more than three hours where Scorsese adapts the homonymous book by david grann (the moon killers in Spain) with the complicity of a cast led by Lily GladstoneLeonardo DiCaprio and robert deniro. However, Scorsese’s stay in the Croisette has been hit with a somewhat unpleasant twist.
And it is that Scorsese has just been denounced. Together with his producer, Sikelia Productions. The claim has been filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court the lawyers of op-fortitudeproduction company created to develop the film about World War II Operation: Fortitude. This historical film, based on a key mission of the war, was being promoted by Op-Fortitude and, it is assumed, by Scorsese and Sikelia through the mediation of LBI Entertainment.
Op-Fortitude alleges that Scorsese accepted a payment of $500,000 for taking over the film with his label, taking responsibility for both production and post-production and for bringing together an all-star cast for the project. What is the problem? That quite some time has passed since then, and Scorsese hasn’t done anything. “Mr. Scorsese has not done nothing at all to promote the production of the film and has not responded at all to Op-Fortitude’s repeated attempts to contact him and ensure the fulfillment of its obligations”, reads the demand of the producer.
Op-Fortitude reached an agreement with LBI in 2021. For this agreement Scorsese received half a million that he should have invested in Operation: Fortitude. From Sikelia they assured him at the beginning that they would meet with Scorsese and “immediately afterwards they would contact possible directors and interpreters.” From first line”. The agreement also contemplated that Scorsese would participate directly as a producer, since LBI and Op-Fortitude were already linked with other functions.
take the money and run
Total. That in the following months the film did not progress, but LBI kept insisting that Scorsese was going to go with it, without terminating the agreement. After months without communication or indications that things were moving forward, Op-Fortitude met with Charles Pacheco, from LBI. Then they told him the project could be canceled and the $500,000 would be returned to him…until the contract was effectively terminated and no payment came. Sikelia and Scorsese claimed that Op-Fortitude had no right to cancel the deal or receive a refund.
Basically, Scorsese and his production company (with which he has financed so much The wolf of Wall Street as Killers of the Flower Moon) refuse to return the money. “Although more than fifteen months have passed since the contract was signed, Mr. Scorsese has not performed any work that falls under any of the three categories of services contemplated in the contract: casting, production and post-production,” says John Fowler, attorney of Op-Fortitude, in statements to hollywood reporter. “Nor has he done any other work on the project.”
The lawsuit was unveiled this Monday, and for now neither Sikelia nor Scorsese have issued statements about it.
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