Randy Quaid to sue Brokeback Mountain producers

[LynneSin]

http://tmz.aol.com/article2?id=20060323195809990001

Randy Quaid Sues Over 'Brokeback'
Actor claims producers defrauded him

(Mar. 23) -- Randy Quaid has filed a lawsuit claiming he was done in by producers of 'Brokeback Mountain.'


TMZ obtained a copy of the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming producers falsely represented the movie to him as "a low-budget, art house film, with no prospect of making any money." Quaid claims the representations were a ruse from the beginning. 'Brokeback' has grossed around $160 million.


Quaid's suit claims that in 2004, he met with director Ang Lee, who offered him the role of Joe Aguirre. The suit alleges that Lee told Quaid: "We can't pay anything, we have very little money, everyone is making a sacrifice to make this film."

[Deja Q]

1. Okay. I'll sue the casino for misadvertising too. They say I can win 24/7.

What a dumbsuck.

[terrya]

2. How could anyone predict what the box office would be?

No one knew how much money this would make. Hell, the marketing campaign was unique...roll the film out very gradually...almost city by city.

This film was a huge gamble, at least with the studio.

While I'm very happy the film made as much money as it did (and this isn't even counting DVD sales), I don't think anyone would have anticipated how much of a box office success it turned out to be.

[LostinVA]

11. Yeah, but SAG, etc., actually have definitions for low-budget, etc.

It's not about box office quite as much as it's about film budget... so, saying a film is being made for peanuts, so we can't pay much, when it actually has a mich higher budget, is against SAG, WGA, etc. rules. I would like to know what McMurtry got paid... Quaid has a decent foundation for a lawsuit.

on edit: it'll be settled out of court.

[DrGonzoLives]

16. $500K to $7M

is how a "low-budget" film is defined by them. So the argument can be made they were trying to deceive him into taking the role for nothing.

But who am I kidding? The real reason is that he's an evil homophobe Bushbot, like anyone else who says anything remotely negative about "Brokeback Mountain."

[LostinVA]

19. Correct -- I know the WGA would make sure a writer got the correct amount

if this had happened. All of this stuff is in the contracts, and if they had "low budget" written down...? They're screwed.

[northzax]

18. the production budget was $14million

McMurtry, of course, was the screenwriter, not an actor. Therefore, there is no way that Legder, Gyllenhall and Williams were all making their normal price tags, since that's about 9 million right there. McMurty probalby pulled a million or so. they weren't working for scale, i don't think, but it's probably pretty close.

[LostinVA]

21. My point re: McMurtry is under the auspices of the WGA

And I would love to know what budget his contract had written down... A million for a writer for a $14 million movie is really, really high -- not scale. That's my point... it'll be settled out of court, because the studio -- as usual! -- did something shady re: number crunching...

[rocktivity]

22. DING DING DING! Terrya, you're our grand prize winner!

...How could anyone predict what the box office would be? No one knew how much money this would make...

That's exactly why any pay cuts you decide to take for a movie role should be taken off the FRONT end, NEVER the back--there simply is no way of telling just how well ANY movie will do. Who would have dreamed that Fargo, Moonstruck, My Great Big Fat Greek Wedding, March Of The Penguins, or even Farenheit 9/11 had a "prospect" of making big money? You're no rookie, Randy--you should have known better. Besides, if the producers NEEDED to screw someone to make money, wouldn't it have been smarter for them to go after the leading men?

:headbang:
rocknation

[CBHagman]

3. That certainly changes my opinion of Randy Quaid.

It's very disappointing. He's had a lengthy and varied career, from what I can tell, and now he turns litigious. I hope he loses and the judge tells him to take a hike.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

4. Randy, don't be a jackass...

I have no doubt the producers went in with a small, indie budget with the expectaton that the movie could tank at the BO and make zero $$$. Considering the vast majority of movies do not make back their production costs in the theatre, this is not an unusual expectation. For a "gay cowboy movie" in America, I would imagine that expectation to be tenfold.

It is common for the producers of low-budget films to offer the actors a piece of the back end as an incentive/reward for taking on a low paying film. Was Quaid offered a piece? That is what made Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill multi-millionaires -- Lucas could only pay them something like $30,000 for the first "Star Wars" and gave them generous back end and merchandising deals.

Sounds like his real problem was an agent who didn't properly ask for a back end in the event the film did well.

[rocktivity]

23. Giving away your post-production compensation

is like dropping your seventh veil. I don't think Randy has a case--if he wasn't offered a piece of the back end in exchange for a front-end pay cut, he should have walked.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Misunderestimator]

5. What an ass. He should sue his own agent instead.

:eyes:

[no name no slogan]

6. Randy should sue himself

for the last couple Vacation movies. He's on minute 16 of his 15 minutes.

[LynneSin]

7. Hell he should be sued for using Laura Bush's stylist....

[no name no slogan]

10. "Mommy, Daddy's wearing the drapes again!"

:rofl:

[Nailzberg]

8. Yet, he made the Ice Harvest. Sounds like someone needs a new agent.

Someone is seriously putting the wrong scripts on your breakfast table, Randy. You're people can't pick a winner for shit. And why wouldn't you ask for points?

It was an art house, indie project. It just happened to do much better than they expected.

Acting is a high risk career. And indie films are high risk investments. Most fail to make back their money. So I say to Mr. Quaid: The producers told you the honest truth. No one in Hollywood is gonna cry for you, Mr. Quaid. When you've been in the business as long as you have, you should know better. You haven't been picking the right projects for a while now. Your people are dropping the ball. I can't sue the lottery commission because someone told me the odds and I decided not to place a winning bet.

[LostinVA]

12. It wasn't an art house, indie project -- it was Focus

This was a bit of marketing smarts by the studio.

[Nailzberg]

17. When I say indie, I'm not referring to it being independent.

You are correct that the film was made under the studio umbrella. The studio system is a business, and they saw money being lost to indie films. So they got in on the game, creating production companies to develop smaller appeal, low budget films to appeal to the indie film market.

When I said it was an art-house indie film, I'm talking about the appeal.

[LostinVA]

20. Sorry -- understand what you were saying now

I was trying to tell some friends recently that "BBN" is NOT a "real" indie/art house movie... it's a studio feature. Which is a good thing, imo.

[Nailzberg]

13. I take that back, he won't need a new agent - no one will cast him again

Studio lawyers are gonna take notice of this and blackball his ass. Think the next producer is gonna want to hire you knowing that you are the type to turn around and sue them cause you didn't like your deal?

[Samurai_Writer]

9. Who would want to see Randy Quaid in a gay cowboy movie?

:puke:

Come on! Does he really think that an ugly, overweight, middle-aged, B-grade actor should be cast in a hot, passionate LOVE story?

[LaraMN]

14. Really, seriously, how much can "top-shelf' Randy Quaid be going for

these days? $1.99 the first minute and .79 each additional minute?

[Orsino]

15. He wants his share of the success he had nothing to do with?

Nice going, Randy.

[Ariana Celeste]

24. What an asshole.

:eyes: