Producer sues Netflix for $105 million over missing Nicolas Cage movie

LOS ANGELES — A movie producer is seeking at least $105 million in damages from Netflix after alleging that a copy of his unreleased Nicolas Cage film was stolen from the streaming company's Hollywood studios.

Producer Simon Afram's attorneys filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in California, claiming that filmmakers delivered an unencrypted master copy of the World War II drama "Fortitude" to Netflix in June at the company's request.

Afram invested more than $45 million in the production, which took seven years to complete, and was attempting to sell the film to Netflix or another distributor.

According to the lawsuit, the producers were informed nine days later through a Netflix email that "someone stole a good amount of drives from our desks this past week," including the drive containing "Fortitude."

The producers argued that the film's value had been "destroyed" because potential distributors would be unlikely to purchase a movie that could be leaked online through piracy websites. They claimed Netflix should have taken stronger security measures to protect the hard drive.

"It is not fathomable that a sophisticated buyer would invest tens of millions of dollars to acquire the film — and tens of millions more to market it — while facing the constant risk that it could appear online to be viewed widely for free at any time," the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit is seeking at least $105 million in damages.

Netflix said it disputes the claim that it should be responsible for the loss of a film delivered without proper industry-standard safeguards.

"While we do not own the rights to ‘Fortitude,’ we take content security seriously and have taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team," Netflix said in a statement, adding that it investigated the theft and monitored piracy websites for unauthorized distribution of the film.

The company also said it declined to provide investigation details to Afram's attorneys, accusing them of attempting to pressure Netflix for payment instead of cooperating in good faith.

-Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by David Gregorio/Reuters