Los Angeles police are investigating the disappearance of a World War II movie starring actor Nicolas Cage after film producer Simon Afram filed a 105 million dollar lawsuit against Netflix over a lost hard drive.
Afram filed the lawsuit in a California federal court in July, demanding at least 105 million dollars in compensation after the streaming company allegedly lost the master copy of Fortitude, a war drama that cost more than 45 million dollars to make.
Attorneys representing Afram lodged a complaint at the Hollywood police station, prompting an investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times on Friday.
The producer handed the completed film over to Netflix in mid-June for screening and acquisition. A few days later, Netflix sent an email to the plaintiffs informing them that a large number of hard drives had been stolen from its Los Angeles offices, including the drive holding Fortitude.
Missing hard drives and security questions
The lawsuit alleges that Netflix refused to clarify whether it reported the theft to law enforcement authorities or hired a private security agency to recover the missing hard drives.
Afram stated that he spent seven years producing the movie and invested more than 45 million dollars in the project, which was in the process of being sold to distribution partners when the footage disappeared.
Cage, who stars in the WWII production, is an Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in Hollywood feature films. Netflix is an American entertainment and streaming media company based in California.
Response from Netflix
Netflix denied liability for the missing film. In a statement shared by industry publication Deadline, a spokesperson for Netflix said the company would not assume the risk of loss for a movie distributed without standard industry security measures.
