Overview
- The producer filed a California complaint late July accusing Netflix of compromising the unreleased World War II thriller Fortitude after a master copy was stolen from a Los Angeles office.
- The suit alleges the master was stored unencrypted on a device and staff were told to delete it after viewing, and that the loss damages the film’s sale value and insurance standing.
- Netflix says it does not hold the film’s rights, disputes liability for content delivered without industry-standard security, and says it has opened an internal review and offered to monitor piracy sites.
- The parties also disagree over whether law enforcement was notified and whether the filmmakers’ lawyers demanded $165 million, a claim Netflix called a hostile attempt at extortion.
- Industry experts say unreleased masters are typically delivered with encryption to protect distribution value and insurance, so a leaked master can sharply reduce buyer interest and hurt the cast, crew and investors who spent years and tens of millions on the film.