Yahoo Finance Olympus Has Fallen's Gerard Butler sues producer over profits
Olympus Has Fallen star Gerard Butler is suing the movie's producers in a dispute over profits.
Deadline reports that the actor and his legal team have submitted a filing at Los Angeles Superior Court against Nu Image, Millennium and Padre Nuestro Productions, claiming that Butler is owed over $10 million in profits from the 2013 action movie after they ordered an independent audit.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Butler, Comrie Inc and G-Basentertainment, is listed as a complaint for fraud, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations and accounting, with Butler's team submitting a demand for a jury trial.
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The filing argues that the producers have "systematically refused to pay Plaintiffs their share of the grosses and profits" from Olympus Has Fallen, saying that "producers have earned tens of millions of dollars from Olympus, but refuse to pay Butler a penny of the grosses and profits promised to him in the parties' agreement".
It adds that "it now appears that Producers never intended to pay Butler his share of the grosses and profits", adding: "Instead, Producers embarked on a scheme designed to grossly misrepresent the finances of the Film to Butler, so that Butler would believe that no such payments were due."
The filing also claims that the audit undertaken of the producers' accounting statements "revealed that Producers understated the profits from the Film by an eight figure sum" and that they had "failed to report the profits from Olympus to the Directors Guild of America – Producers Pension and Health Plans".
"Butler refuses to tolerate Defendants' misrepresentations and other wrongful conduct," the filing continues. "Butler worked with Defendants to create a highly successful movie franchise. He demands his fair share."
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Butler's team is now seeking damages "in excess of $10,000,000" amongst other costs. It has not yet been confirmed whether a trial will take place.
Olympus Has Fallen starred Butler as disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Bannon, who heads back into the White House when the US President is taken hostage by kidnappers and the country is put under threat by terrorists.
The movie, which co-starred Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Robert Forster, has spawned two sequels in 2016's London Has Fallen and 2019's Angel Has Fallen. There are further films in the franchise in the works, with the next sequel set to be titled Night Has Fallen.
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