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The upcoming World War II espionage thriller "Fortitude," starring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage and directed by "Con Air" filmmaker Simon West, is now at the center of a major controversy after its entire master copy was reportedly stolen. The incident stems from a theft at Netflix's Los Angeles office last month, where multiple hard drives were taken. While most of the stolen drives were empty, one contained an unencrypted master version of "Fortitude"—the highest quality original film file.
(Image Source: Op-Fortitude)
On Thursday, U.S. time, Simon Afram, the writer and producer of "Fortitude," along with his production company Op-Fortitude, filed a lawsuit in California federal court. They are suing Netflix for allegedly mishandling the film's copy, which they claim jeopardizes future distribution rights sales and are seeking no less than $105 million in damages.
Netflix has not yet officially acquired distribution rights for "Fortitude." The streaming giant initially received promotional materials for the film late last year and expressed interest in a potential acquisition. In June of this year, Netflix requested the film files for internal review. According to the lawsuit, Netflix instructed the production company to provide a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) file, enabling them to screen the film internally. On June 15, another producer for "Fortitude" personally delivered the hard drive to Netflix's office. He reportedly informed Netflix that the DCP was unencrypted and requested that the files be deleted after screening, with a notification sent when the hard drive could be retrieved. Just ten days later, the hard drive was stolen.
(Image Source: Op-Fortitude)
The lawsuit also states that Netflix refused to disclose whether it had filed a police report or initiated an investigation with law enforcement. Furthermore, after the production company filed its own report, Netflix allegedly declined their request to involve the Los Angeles Police Department in the investigation. Netflix, however, has countered these claims, accusing Afram's demand for over $100 million as "malicious extortion" rather than a genuine attempt to cooperate.
The production company, however, expressed frustration, stating that the theft of the film's master copy significantly complicates distribution rights sales. They argue it will negatively impact acquisition negotiations, insurance coverage, and marketing strategies, while also increasing the risk of the film leaking online before its official release. They claim that despite multiple domestic and international distributors expressing interest, they have chosen to halt distribution rights sales for now, which will inevitably jeopardize the film's planned release strategy and even its awards season campaign.