The screenwriter for the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody filed suit against production company GK Films, saying he hasn't been paid for his work despite the film grossing more than $900 million globally.
In the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Anthony McCarten claims co-producer and distributor 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) gave him accounting statements that show Bohemian Rhapsody lost 10s of millions of dollars, according to Variety.
Bohemian Rhapsody featured No Time to Die star Romi Malek as Freddie Mercury, lead singer of rock band Queen. The film covered Mercury's life from when he first met bandmates Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Brian May through its rise to international stardom, ending with a recreation of Queen's set at the 1985 Live Aid charity concert at Wembley Stadium. Bohemian Rhapsody had a $55 million budget, and McCarten was due 5% of the net proceeds.
The suit contends Fox defined "net proceeds" in a way that left McCarten empty-handed, stating, "If net proceeds don't pay out on a low-budget film that does nearly a billion dollars at the box office, then they never will." It also states McCarten expected GK Film's definition of net proceeds to be used to calculate his payout for writing the script, and that GK's numbers would be closer to Bohemian Rhapsody's actual losses, rather than figures derived through so-called studio accounting. McCarten said he did not agree to use Fox's definition of net proceeds, nor has anyone showed it to him.
GK Films, as a practice, promises a large percentage of back-end profits to participants who accept lesser fees upfront for their work, the suit claims. McCarten, a playwright and novelist who also wrote scripts for The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour, expressed displeasure about his scriptwriting fee to GK Films executive Denis O'Sullivan, the suit alleges. Sullivan relayed a message from studio boss Graham King, saying, "The number is what it is. But Graham wants me to tell you that as he did with Cameron Diaz on Gangs of New York, he will take care of you in success."
With Bohemian Rhapsody's big box office, GK Films did pay McCarten bonuses, but an accounting statement Fox provided to him in April 2019 showed a $105 million loss. Another given to him in July 2021 showed a $51 million loss.
Directed by Bryan Singer, Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards, winning Best Actor for Malek and three other Oscars in technical categories.
Source: Variety
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