Did you like the movie Chicago? If you answered ‘yes’ to that question, we can assume that you are either a girl, a weirdo or Bruce Forsyth. One of Chicago’s producers doesn’t like it so much, though.

Martin Richards, owner of The Producer Circle Company (PCC) has been doing his sums about Chicago, and has worked out that he was supposed to get paid a share of the money that Chicago made studio Miramax. He didn’t, and now he’s suing Miramax for $10 million. Just think of all the pain and heartache that would have been averted had the Chicago movie never been made in the first place. Think about next time you want to make a shitty musical about Catherine Zeta Jones singing about jazz in a hat, Miramax.

Statistically, the 2002 movie version of Chicago (DVDs) is the 144th best
movie ever made, tucked neatly between The Runaway Bride and Mulan.
Critically, Chicago was also a big hit, scooping six Oscars – even
though it’s basically a film where Richard Gere sings a song. Ridiculous.

One of the Oscars that Chicago won was for Best Picture, and was
picked up by Martin Richards, producer of Chicago. But now things have
turned sour for Richards, Miramax and Chicago, with Martin Richards
suing Miramax for $10 million.

Chicago is apparently the most commercially successful movie that
Miramax ever made, taking over $300 million worldwide. And Martin
Richards claims that he’s in for a cut of that. He, and the PCC, owned
the film rights to the 1970s stage musical Chicago, and turned Chicago
into a movie on the premise that he would get a cut of the earnings.
But that hasn’t happened, according to Martin Richards.

Richards claims that Miramax tried to impose a net profit deal on
him – which, in the shady world of Hollywood financing means that the
PCC would be given about 50p in 100 years time – but Martin Richards
didn’t agree to this. The lawsuit states that:

"While PCC is unable to determine with precision
the amounts that it is owed, it estimates that Miramax’s breach of
contract has cost it no less than 10 million dollars."

$10 million for making Chicago? We think we deserve $10 million, just for sitting through the fucking thing in the first place.

Read more:

Producer sues over Chicago – This Is London

[story by Stuart Heritage]