With news of Mel Gibson‘s divorce becoming public, the last thing he needs right now is more negative press. Unfortunately, that’s just what he’s getting.
Benedict Fitzgerald, the co-writer Gibson hired for his hit flick Passion of the Christ, is claiming Mel owes him a lot of money.
Fitzgerald sued the movie execs last year, claiming he was lied to when they said the film would only have a $4 to 7 million production budget. That basically meant they couldn’t afford to pay him more.
However, after reviewing accounting reports, the case revealed that Mel and his fellow liars actually spent around $30 million for the movie’s budget. Meaning Fitzgerald was really supposed to get paid a lot more.
Fitzgerald isn’t buying the reports now, though. He actually thinks the budget amount is much higher. In fact, he’s now asked a Los Angeles judge to order a more thorough investigation of the movie’s accounting records.
Benedict was only paid $75,000 and had to borrow $200,000 from Gibson to cover some expenses. The movie ended up grossing over $600 million worldwide!
Fitzgerald wants a fair writer’s fee based on the movie’s real cost, not the false amount he was told.
Pay up, Mel. You can afford to!
[Image via WENN.]