Nicolas Cage has made quite a name for himself with the films he’s been part of throughout his career. However, fans recently started talking about a film that hasn’t been released. Reportedly, Netflix is facing a lawsuit involving a film starring the actor that was allegedly stolen.
Nicolas Cage Reportedly Starred In The Unreleased WWII Film
Cage, the nephew of famous film director Francis Ford Coppola, has appeared in a number of iconic films over the years. These include Con Air, Face/Off, National Treasure, and Leaving Las Vegas.
In recent years, Cage has often poked fun at his own memetic image, notably playing a fictionalized version of himself in the 2022 action comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. He is also the voice of Spider-Noir in the animated Spider-Man franchise.
News has come out that Netflix is being sued after an unreleased World War II film starring Cage was allegedly taken from one of their Los Angeles offices. The movie’s producer is reportedly seeking at least $105 million in damages.
According to Rolling Stone, a lawsuit from British production company Op-Fortitude says it delivered an unencrypted digital copy of its film, Fortitude, back in June for Netflix to review. However, the company alleges that it received an email within days claiming that several hard drives had been stolen.
The executive is alleged to have written, “This is a first for us.” It was also shared that Netflix believes that the drives could have been taken for scrap, with the incident still being under investigation.
Cage’s Character Was Described As Being Inspired By James Bond
The producer argues that the loss could impact the film’s value. As the lawsuit noted, it took seven years to finish and cost over $45 million to produce.
In addition to Cage, Ben Kingsley, Ron Perlman, Matthew Goode, Michael Sheen and Alice Eve appeared in the film. Simon West was also credited as the director.
Reportedly, the film revolves around a WWII double agent, Duško Popov. Cage plays the character in the unreleased film, whose story is believed to be inspired by the likes of Ian Fleming’s James Bond.
For its part, Netflix has denied the allegations. In a statement, a Netflix spokesperson shared, “Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards. 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.
The statement noted, “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.” This allegedly included “immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith.” In addition, the company has claimed that they haven’t seen any evidence of the film’s leak.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.