The producers of the David O. Russell Amazon series that got cancelled after news of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment broke in October are suing The Weinstein Company for at least $2 million.
The suit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday and seeks “damages well in excess of $2,000,000,” claims that the show’s producers, Scott Lambert and Alexandra Milchan, were denied compensation owed to them after developing the Amazon series for several years — only for it to be cancelled due to the sexual misconduct accusations.
“This misconduct — which TWC knew very well, but concealed from Plaintiffs — was effectively a ticking time bomb,” the lawsuit reads.
The series, which was to star Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore, had been picked up by Amazon for 20 episodes over two seasons. As part of their contract, Milchan and Lambert were to receive compensation that included a $250,000 development, relocation fees, and an additional $50,000 per episode. The producers argue that they’ve seen no compensation for their work since Amazon shut down the show to distance itself from Weinstein and TWC.
“Plaintiffs negotiated with TWC under the belief that they were dealing with a reputable company,” they claim. “During the time of the negotiations and at the time that they entered into the Contract, they had no knowledge of Weinstein’s history of sexual misconduct […] Had they known of his sordid history, they would not have entered into the Contract, as it would have exposed TWC’s appearance of reputability to be a sham.”
TWC did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.