Why Kevin Costner sued his own movie over a decade after it was released
It feels as though Kevin Costner is always getting himself into trouble, with the actor being involved in a few production controversies and legal battles over the years. While some might label him as difficult, others might describe him as committed, with a determined (yet sometimes excessive) approach to filmmaking that has led to blockbuster hits like Field of Dreams and commercial flops like Waterworld.
But over the course of his career, Costner became involved in many of his projects as a producer, learning a lot about the logistical and financial aspects of film production and how to talk business, something that put him in good stead to deal with one legal battle that occurred over his 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Directed by Kevin Reynolds, the film charted the traditional story of Robin Hood but with a twist by following a nobleman, Robin, who breaks out of prison and travels back home, only to discover that his father has been killed, aiming to take revenge and save the kingdom from an evil sheriff.
The film was highly successful at the box office, earning over $390million worldwide, something that should have lined the pockets of everyone involved in the making of the film. But Costner was allegedly screwed out of his promised share, with the actor later suing the production company for not paying him his portion of the profits.
The company, Morgan Creek Productions, went on to make millions more from DVD and television sales, with Costner suing them for breach of contract and fraud. When filing his lawsuit, he said, “Every actor hopes to star in a great movie that makes substantial profits. But if you’re hoping to earn profits based on the success of your film and you want to be paid on a timely basis, then one company you certainly do not want to do business with is Defendant Morgan Creek Productions.”
Costner alleged that the company had “intentionally concealed information” to deny him his fair share of profits, with the actor being entitled to 12.5% of the gross profits after exceeding $60m and 15% after earning over $100m in his original contract.
Sadly, even being a huge movie star doesn’t protect you from this kind of deception and corruption in the film industry, with many actors having their contracts breached by huge production companies who only care about one thing: making as much money as possible. We also saw this recently through Scarlett Johansson’s feud with Disney, who breached her contract by releasing Black Widow on their streaming platform too soon after its cinematic release.
Greed can very quickly get to your head in a business like Hollywood, with people becoming blinkered by profit and materialistic goals, choosing to screw people over in order to secure as much as they can for themselves. It’s a brutal experience, but one that surely taught a tough lesson to Costner, and perhaps made him more careful about who to work with in the future. It certainly led him to steer clear of Morgan Creek Productions.
