A production company and filmmaker from the United Kingdom have filed a lawsuit against Netflix for $105 million US. The legal action stems from the theft of an unreleased Nicolas Cage movie from Netflix’s offices in Los Angeles. The film in question is “Fortitude,” a Second World War espionage thriller directed by Simon West. The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, alleges that the theft has significantly impacted the commercial viability of the film by making it vulnerable to online piracy.
The writer-producer Simon Afram, along with Op-Fortitude Ltd., is seeking damages, claiming to have invested over $45 million US in the project. According to court documents, a hard drive containing a master screening copy of “Fortitude” was delivered to Netflix on June 15. The drive was reportedly not encrypted, and Netflix was instructed to delete any copies of the film and notify the plaintiffs once the viewing was complete.
However, Netflix informed the plaintiffs after more than a week that the drives, including the one with the film copy, had been stolen from their offices. Netflix denied responsibility, stating that the drive did not have adequate industry-standard protections. The streaming platform explained that unreleased titles are typically shared through password-protected links or encrypted digital cinema packages (DCPs).
The lawsuit also alleges that Netflix did not provide essential information about the investigation, such as whether law enforcement was involved. Netflix defended its position by mentioning “hostile attempts to extort money” from Afram’s legal representation. Despite this, Netflix claimed to have taken additional steps to assist, offering to monitor piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution of the film.
In response, Afram’s legal counsel emphasized the importance of transparency in their communication, stating, “We believe our partners deserve complete transparency and we are committed to providing you with the truth.”
