Randy Quaid, who
plays a tough sheep rancher in Brokeback Mountain, claims he was fleeced for his work in the
movie. Quaid filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles
County superior court alleging producers got him to work
cheap by falsely claiming Brokeback was "a
low-budget, art-house film, with no prospect of making
any money."
"Yet from day
one, defendants fully intended that the film would not
be made on a low budget, would be given a worldwide release,
and would be supported as the studio picture it always
was secretly intended to be," the lawsuit says. Quaid
agreed to waive his usual seven-figure fee and share
of gross profits in favor of a much smaller payment, the
lawsuit claims, although it doesn't say how much he was
paid.
The 55-year-old
actor was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1973's
The Last Detail. He played "Colonel" Tom
Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, in the TV movie
Elvis. The lawsuit alleges intentional and
negligent misrepresentation and seeks at least $10 million
in damages. It names Focus Features LLC, Del Mar
Productions LLC, which was formed by Focus to make the
movie, and producers David Linde and James Schamus.
Focus is the specialty movie arm of Universal Pictures.
Linde and Schamus were copresidents of Focus when the
film was made. Linde was recently promoted to
cochairman of Universal Pictures. Focus Features does not
comment on pending litigation, spokeswoman Adriene Bowles
said Friday.
The lawsuit
contends that industry guilds define a low-budget film as
having a budget of $500,000 to $7 million, but the budget
for Brokeback was about $15 million. Bowles said the
budget was $13.9 million. The average cost of making a
studio picture last year was $60 million, according to
the Motion Picture Association of America.
Brokeback Mountain, which won Oscars for best
director, original score, and adapted screenplay, has
grossed more than $82 million in North America. (AP)
