BACKING OUT

Scorsese Hit With Lawsuit After Allegedly Breaching $1M Deal

The lawsuit claims Scorsese accepted $500,000 to handle casting, production and postproduction for the WW2 film.

Legendary director Martin Scorsese is being sued for going back on a $1 million deal to executive produce Operation: Fortitude—a World War II movie written by Simon Afram. The lawsuit, filed Monday against Scorsese and his production company, claims Scorsese accepted $500,000 to handle casting, production and postproduction for the film. But after allegedly not doing any work for more than a year, he refused to give the money back. “Although more than fifteen months have passed since the Agreement was signed, Mr. Scorsese has not performed any work that falls within any of the three categories of services contemplated by the Agreement,” the suit says, adding that he has “done nothing whatsoever in the furtherance of production of the picture.” The film’s production company, Op-Fortitude, is seeking punitive damages for breach of contract and other claims, alleging that the movie’s production has been set back thanks to Scorsese.