Legendary film director Martin Scorsese was sued for allegedly accepting a $500,000 payment to executive-produce a World War II film but doing no work and then refusing to return the money.
Op-Fortitude Ltd., formed to make the film, said Scorsese and his production company Sikelia Productions Inc. agreed in January 2022 to contact actors and potential director candidates to help the UK company assemble an all-star cast for a feature film called Operation Fortitude in exchange for $500,000 up front and $500,000 to be paid later.
“In the 15 months that have passed since the agreement was signed, Mr. Scorsese has done nothing whatsoever in furtherance of production of the picture, and has been completely non-responsive to Op-Fortitude’s repeated attempts to reach him,” the company said in a complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The company is seeking restitution of at least $500,000, unspecified punitive damages and its legal costs.
Scorsese’s representatives at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the suit. Sikelia didn’t answer a phone call made seeking comment.
Story of Pivotal Mission
The company set out to tell the story of a “strategic mission that was pivotal to the course of World War II,” according to the complaint. Operation Fortitude was a deception the Allies conceived to trick Germany, including by drawing its attention away from the decisive Normandy landings of 1944, although the film’s specific subject and plot aren’t described in the lawsuit.
Talent management company LBI Entertainment LLC represented Scorsese at the meeting at which the agreement was struck, and LBI’s representatives said if Scorsese was to be the executive producer, he would immediately start reaching out personally to potential “A-list directors and cast members,” Op-Fortitude said in the complaint.
Instead, the UK company alleges, Scorsese’s representatives strung it along for more than a year, repeatedly promising that Scorsese wanted to be involved and urging it to hold off on canceling the contract. Op-Fortitude said it waited until March and finally sent a letter to LBI terminating the deal and requesting the return of the up-front half million dollars.
LBI didn’t respond right away to an emailed request for comment.
Starting From Scratch
Scorsese now claims Op-Fortitude isn’t entitled to cancel the contract or get the money back, according to the complaint.
“Largely due to defendants’ complete and total failure of their duties under the agreement, Op-Fortitude has still not completed assembling its cast and crew and has not been able to begin the production process in earnest,” the UK company said. “Op-Fortitude has instead been forced to essentially begin from scratch.”
The case is Op-Fortitude Ltd. v. Scorsese, California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles.
