12/3/05 KEVIN COSTNER'S $8 MILLION LAWSUIT
The upside of anger for Kevin Costner? A lawsuit.
The Dances with Wolves mastermind has filed an $8 million lawsuit against Ascendant Pictures for allegedly breaking an oral agreement for him to headline the romantic comedy Taming Ben Taylor.
Costner's suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the movie company promised him the salary plus additional compensation to star as a stubborn divorced man who refuses to sell his cash-strapped vineyard to a developer who wants to build a golf course. Costner says he accepted the offer in December 2004.
However per court documents obtained by TMZ.com, Costner alleges Ascendant breached its contract by reneging on the deal in June without paying him. Costner says the scuttled film cost him big bucks because he was forced to pass on other starring roles while waiting for production to start on Taming.
"[Costner had] duly performed all obligations under the agreement in all material respects, except those obligations plaintiff was prevented or excused from performing," states the complaint.
The actor-director is seeking the $8 million in compensatory damages plus unspecified punitive damages.
Reps for Ascendant declined to comment on the suit, citing pending litigation.
Taming Ben Taylor wasn't the first collaboration between Costner and Ascendant. The company produced the family comedy-drama The Upside of Anger, in which Costner costarred with Joan Allen, that was released earlier this year.
Started in 2002, Ascendant has produced or financed 16 movies, including the Nicolas Cage vehicle Lord of War and the upcoming Matthew McConaughey-Penélope Cruz thriller The Loop.
Costner, meanwhile, has a busy production slate himself. He next appears on the big screen in Rob Reiner's comedy Rumor Has It opposite Jennifer Aniston about a woman who learns her family was the inspiration for The Graduate. He'll then team with Meg Ryan on a drama, The Tortilla Curtain, and the Coast Guard action thriller The Guardian with Ashton Kutcher.
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