Netflix is facing a lawsuit seeking approximately $105 million after the master copy of Fortitude, an unreleased historical World War II film starring Nicolas Cage, allegedly disappeared from the company’s Los Angeles office.
Writer and producer Simon Afram, together with his production company Op-Fortitude, filed the case in a California federal court on July 30. The claim says a master copy of the film was hand-delivered to Netflix’s Sunset Bronson Studios office on June 15, after the streaming service showed interest in acquiring its distribution rights.
The case was reported by T he Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix says drives were stolen
In an email dated June 25, Netflix Head of Film Acquisitions Sean Berney reportedly told the filmmakers that the master had been taken during a theft from the office. The message said that “someone stole a good amount of drives” from desks the previous week.
“This is a first for us… Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with out [sic] security teams to no luck. Our piracy teams are on high alert with the breach and will monitor.”
The filmmakers allege that Netflix chose not to involve the Los Angeles Police Department in its internal investigation. Netflix has declined to comment on the active legal proceedings, while the law firm representing the company in the California case described Op-Fortitude’s lawsuit as a “hostile attempt to extort money.”
Fortitude’s distribution future is uncertain
Fortitude does not currently have a planned release date, and no distributor is attached to the project. Its producers argue that losing the master copy could make it more difficult to sell the film to another distribution company.
At the time of reporting, the movie had not appeared on torrenting websites, and no alleged thief had been identified. The dispute highlights the importance of secure digital media storage—an issue that also matters across the wider arcade industry news landscape, where valuable game assets and hardware documentation can be difficult to replace.
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