Netflix is being sued for a whopping $105 million after losing an unencrypted copy of an unreleased World War II film starring Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley.
The film, titled Fortitude, was written and co-produced by Swiss businessman Simon Afram, who spent $45 million to get it made.
According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday (July 29), the digital copy went missing from Netflix headquarters after it was dropped off by an associated producer for rights-purchasing consideration back in June.
“This is a first for us. Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with our security teams to no luck,” Sean Berney, director of original film at Netflix, told Variety.
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According to the suit filing, the producer who dropped off the digital screener claims he informed Netflix that the copy was unencrypted and asked for the film to be deleted immediately after viewing.
The suit argues Netflix was responsible for storing the film copy in a secure location where it could not be accessed by unauthorized parties or stolen.
However, in a statement, Netflix said it is not responsible for the film having been submitted without proper encryption precautions first taken.
“Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards,” Netflix shared.
The company added they are trying to remediate the situation.
“While we do not own the rights to Fortitude, we take content security seriously and have taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team. This includes conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution or sale,” they said.
Afram’s suit argues Netflix has jeopardized the film’s exclusivity and potential market value.
The lawsuit also claims Netflix has refused to share details of its investigation with Afram’s legal team.
“We have declined to share anything about our ongoing investigation with the law firm representing Simon Afram, given their hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation … including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith,” Netflix responded.
As of publishing there is no indication the film has yet leaked.
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky