It looks like the friendly relationship between Michael Moore and Bob and Harvey Weinstein — who have been involved with the director’s last three films — has come to an abrupt halt.
THR reports that Michael Moore is taking the brothers to court over $2.7 million he claims he’s still owed from box office breaking “Fahrenheit 9/11.” The 2004 film is one of the most successful in Moore’s career to date, taking in $222 million worldwide, but according to the helmer the Weinsteins books feature some creative accounting. According to papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, among the oddities alleged are a “secret deduction of $2.5 million in revenue that the Weinstiens claimed was paid to acquire an interest owned in the film by a predecessor company called Icon Entertainment International; a 7.5% “override” fee on advertising costs in the amount of $1.2 million, “despite the fact that [the Weinsteins] did not incur the advertising costs and the [deal] did not permit [them] to deduct these costs”; as well as additional improper deductions of fees paid to distribution consultants, accountants, residuals, foreign taxes and travel expenses, including what Moore says are the “grossly excessive and unreasonable” costs of hiring a private jet to carry a single passenger to Europe.”
Of course, there is always the other side to the story and the Weinsteins lawyer Bert Fields told THR, “The Weinsteins have paid everything they should have paid. Mr. Moore has received a huge amount of money from this film and we believe he is overreaching. He should be ashamed of himself.” OH FACE. Apparently Moore and the Weinsteins lawyers have haggling over this for about six months now and now its getting legal.
Considering both Moore and the Weinsteins are media savvy loudmouths who love to talk, this could get very ugly/hilarious/interesting/boring in the coming days and weeks. And mostly we’re dying to know who the single passenger was on that flight to Europe. C’mon internet, don’t let us down.
