Sylvester Stallone sues Warner Bros. over fraud and 'dishonesty'

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ANI Los Angeles [US]
Last Updated : Apr 13 2017 | 12:48 PM IST

Pitting against a major Hollywood studio over the 1993 science-fiction movie 'Demolition Man', Sylvester Stallone is suing Warner Bros., claiming that the studio covered up how much money the film made and bilked his production company out of its fair share of grosses.

In a complaint lodged in Los Angeles Superior Court through his loan-out company Rogue Marble, the 'Rocky' star alleges that Burbank-based Warner Bros. spent years sitting on money owed to Stallone's company as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

"The motion picture studios are notoriously greedy," states the complaint. "This one involves outright and obviously intentional dishonesty perpetrated against an international iconic talent. Here, WB decided it just wasn't going to account to Rogue Marble on the Film. WB just sat on the money owed to Rogue Marble for years and told itself, without any justification, that Rogue Marble was not owed any profits."

"When a representative of Rogue Marble asked for an accounting, WB balked and then sent a bogus letter asserting the Film was $66,926,628 unrecouped. When challenged about this false accounting, it made a double-talk excuse, then prepared an actual profit participation statement for the same reporting period, and sent a check for $2,820,000 because the Film had in fact recouped its deficit," read the complaint.

Since 'Demolition Man' made at least $125 million, the actor believes he's entitled to 15 percent and maybe more.

According to the suit, when Stallone's reps raised the issue in 2014, Warner Bros. initially balked at paying anything, claiming that the film had lost $66.9 million.

After Rogue Marble questioned the validity of numbers 'because they did not make any sense' a second statement came with a $2.8 million check with little in the way of an explanation.

Because of this the star believes he may be due a more significant pay out.

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First Published: Apr 13 2017 | 12:38 PM IST

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