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Lawsuit against Netflix over stolen film

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2026-08-09 13:22 UTC → 2026-08-21 23:47 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Producer Simon Afram and his company, Op-Fortitude, filed a $105 million federal lawsuit in California against Netflix following the theft of hard drives from the ~~company's~~ company’s Hollywood headquarters. The stolen drives contained an unencrypted Digital Cinema Package (DCP) of the unreleased World War II thriller ~~"Fortitude,"~~ ‘Fortitude,’ starring Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley. The plaintiffs allege that ~~Netflix's~~ Netflix’s negligent handling of the unencrypted material compromised the ~~film's~~ film’s exclusivity and commercial value. They claim the file was delivered for an internal screening with instructions for its subsequent deletion, but the loss was not reported to the crew until ten days after a theft occurred. The lawsuit includes claims of breach of contract and defamation after Netflix characterized Afram’s demands as ‘extortionist.’ Netflix has denied liability, arguing that the delivery of an unencrypted copy did not meet industry standards and ~~characterizing the legal action as an attempt at extortion.~~ that it disputes bearing risk for films delivered without ‘industry-standard safeguards.’ While the company ~~is monitoring piracy websites for~~ acknowledged the ~~footage,~~ theft of several hard drives in an email to the filmmakers, it maintains it is not responsible for the ~~theft.~~ loss. The Los Angeles Police Department is currently investigating the disappearance of the film, which reportedly cost $45 million to produce. The theft allegedly occurred between mid-June and late June, with an unencrypted master copy reportedly taken from an office desk.

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