Many would agree that Martin Scorsese is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of cinema. The New York-born director has crafted more than a few notable motion pictures, from gangster dramas to epic religious films. While he’s mostly thought well of within the industry, he’s now found himself embroiled in a lawsuit that would suggest that he’s not such a “good fella.” Scorsese has been accused of allegedly backing out of a World War II movie and costing a company a considerable amount of money in the process. With that, the suit in question revolves around a sum of $500,000.
It’s been alleged that the 80-year-old writer, director and producer was set to team up with a private company known as Op-Fortitude Ltd. for a brand-new feature. The war film in question – apparently called Operation Fortitude – reportedly had Martin Scorsese on board as an executive producer. Per court documents obtained by The Blast, the company reached an agreement with Scorsese’s own studio banner, Sikelia Productions. Inc, in January 2022. Said deal allegedly stipulated that the director would receive $500,000 for his services after the contract was established and would get another $500K at a later date.
However, the entertainment entity claims that 15 months after the contract was signed, the Casino helmer had not completed any work on the project, which was apparently set to begin production in late 2022. The firm also asserts that the Oscar winner was “completely non-responsive” when they it tried to reach out to him for updates on the director search, casting and more. The company says that it’s lost millions of dollars due to the delay, and it now wants back the $500,000, which is why the suit was filed. Via the documents, the corporation discussed its purported losses due to what it views as a breach of contract:
Op-Fortitude spent significant time and resources in partnering with Sikelia and Mr. Scorsese, and Defendants’ refusal to perform has put the Picture in jeopardy and resulted in the loss of financing, profits, and other commercial opportunities. Op-Fortitude has also suffered substantial delays in the production of the Picture as a result of Mr. Scorsese’s dereliction of his contractual duties.
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In the documents, it was also alleged that the company received confirmation of Martin Scorsese’s purported lack of work from his own talent manager. The manager reportedly “agreed” that it would be “appropriate” for his client to return the money. But according to Op-Fortitude, Scorsese, his manager and production company have now “refused” to pay back the cash. As of this writing, no statement has been shared by the director’s camp.
As The Blast points out, this isn’t the first time that the auteur has found himself in reported legal entanglements due to past productions. He was most prominently sued by Cecchi Gori Pictures over a reported agreement to direct Silence, which was ultimately released in 2016. In that situation, there was reportedly $750K at stake.
Martin Scorsese most recently promoted his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, which made its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The long-awaited book-to-movie adaptation has been described as Goodfellas meets There Will Be Blood and features an all-star cast consisting of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Jesse Plemons and more. Ultimately, the DiCaprio-led film earned positive reviews following its first public screening, and it’ll be widely available for those with Apple TV+ subscriptions later this year.
In terms of the esteemed filmmaker’s apparent legal issue, it remains to be seen how it might be resolved. All we can surmise at the moment is that Op-Fortitude Ltd. seems set on getting back the money it’s reportedly lost.
