A producer behind the hit Netflix series “Narcos” has filed a lawsuit claiming he is owed more than $1 million in unpaid profits on the show.
José Padilha sued fellow producer Eric Newman, claiming that Newman has breached an agreement to split all profits on the show 50-50.
The complaint alleges that Newman and his company have received “several millions of dollars in revenues arising from or connected with ‘Narcos’ that have not been reported to Plaintiffs.” The suit seeks to recoup 50% of all unreported revenues, as well as punitive damages.
Newman has a longstanding relationship with Netflix. He is currently producing “Rebel Moon,” the streamer’s mega-budget sci-fi epic from director Zack Snyder. In addition to “Narcos,” his other Netflix projects include “Bright,” with Will Smith, and “Hemlock Grove,” which was the second show the streamer ever produced.
Padilha is a Brazilian director who first gained notice for “Bus 174,” a 2002 documentary about a bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro. He got further acclaim for “Elite Squad,” a feature about a Brazilian military police unit, and went on to direct the 2014 remake of “RoboCop,” which Newman produced.
The suit alleges that Padilha and Newman made a deal in 2013 to jointly produce “Narcos,” a series about the Colombian cocaine trafficker Pablo Escobar. The series and its follow-up, “Narcos: Mexico,” ran for a total of six seasons on the streaming service.
Padilha also directed “7 Days in Entebbe,” and created “The Mechanism,” a Brazilian political drama that ran for two seasons on Netflix.
Newman’s reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
From Variety US