Dia Sparrow
Staff Writer
Back in 2008, he made his debut as a director with the film The Merry Gentleman, about a professional killer that ends up in an unexpected relationship.
Well, a lawsuit from Merry Gentleman LLC, the movie’s production company, ensued when Keaton didn’t hold up his end of the contract.
Keaton wouldn’t hire an editor during the film’s production, completely left his editing to go fly-fishing, and then threatened to totally skip the 2008 Sundance Film Festival when it seemed that his edited scene wouldn’t be shown at the festival.
After the lawsuit was placed on the table, Keaton retaliated with means of retraction, such as a settlement agreement. This led Keaton to assume that the lawsuit had been dropped, but Merry Gentleman felt otherwise, explaining that Sundance would only show the clip from their movie if Michael Keaton was present, and seeing as how the company has already dropped $4 Million, they felt compelled to give into his demands.
District Judge Gary Feinerman came out and said, “The facts alleged by Merry Gentleman would allow the conclusion that a pre-Sundance suit by Merry Gentleman against Keaton, while certainly a possibility, was not a feasible alternative under the circumstances,” he writes in a ruling on Wednesday. “Keaton’s threat to not appear at Sundance unless Merry Gentleman agreed to allow his second cut to be shown— an agreement memorialized in the Release— could be found opportunistic within the meaning of the duress doctrine in light of Merry Gentleman’s allegations.”
So, the lawsuit still stands.
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