Brian Inerfeld and Tony Leech, who made Hookwinked for the brothers in 2004, are seeking $54 million in damages and accusing TWC of "fraud." From the Post:
"The Weinsteins, knowing that they had been guilty of incompetence and fraud...did not want to take the chance that their reputations would be sullied by the truth at the time that the voting for the Oscars was under way."
Harvey and Bob Weinstein made the payout after consulting with famed trial lawyer David Boies, the lawsuit claims. The mediation talks subsequently fell through.
[...]
According to the suit, the Weinstein Company inked a deal for the $30 million animated, alien space flick ['Escape from Planet Earth'] in 2006, on the heels of the release of "Hoodwinked," the animated takeoff of Little Red Riding Hood that took in $140 million in gross profits.
But the Weinsteins badly botched the new project -- which was expected to make as much as $50 million for Leech and Inerfeld's team -- with a series of production delays, in-fighting and ``egregious,'' cost overruns brought on largely by Harvey's incompetence, the suit claims.
"The Weinsteins are a real life version of Bialystock & Bloom," the suit blasts, referring to the fictitious theatrical fraudsters depicted in 'The Producers'."
Much to chew on -- specifically why the guys who made the $140 million worldwide grosser Hoodwinked would expect their next project to net them $50 million -- but the takeaway seems to be that the $500,000 payoff was more than enough to keep this quiet until after the Oscars. So, mission accomplished, Weinsteins! At least to a point.
ยท Weinstein brothers paid hush money to avoid bad publicity before Oscars: court papers [NYP]