Damon Dash Wants $5 Million from Lee Daniels Over Richard Pryor Biopic
By TheBlast Staff on June 26, 2018 at 4:08 AM EDT
Updated on September 18, 2023 at 5:15 PM EDT
Damon Dash says he worked out a settlement agreement with Lee Daniels years ago that entitled him to profits based off of Daniels' future projects, but now Dash says he's getting screwed out of money in the Richard Pryor biopic and wants millions of dollars to make it right.
According to documents obtained by The Blast, Damon Dash filed a lawsuit against Lee Daniels for breach of contract. He claims that a 2015 agreement made it clear that he would get a co-executive producing credit on the Pryor project, and also 5% of profits Daniels would make on the backend.
Dash says Daniels did not make an effort to fulfill his obligations, and has been kept in the dark about the details of production and the progress of the film. He feels the alleged lack of communication and compliance on Daniels part fits the bill for a breach of contract.
The suit also claims Daniels tried to change the settlement agreement through "threats of criminal prosecution."
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Back in 2014, Dash sued Daniels for $25 million over their dispute involving the ownership rights to 'Precious', 'The Butler' and the television show 'Empire'. The music mogul claimed to have loaned the director $2 million in 2004, in exchange for rights to certain films.
Dash also posted a video of himself confronting Daniels recently at the Hollywood Bowl, warning him that he would go public with a lawsuit if he wasn't paid back in full. Daniels appears incredibly uncomfortable in the video, although he does not say Dash is wrong.
A post shared by Dame Dash (@duskopoppington) on Jun 26, 2018 at 10:18am PDT
Dash thinks Daniels only hatched an agreement back in 2015 to get the $25 million lawsuit dismissed. He now wants $5 million and his co-EP credit on the Pryor deal.
The Pryor biopic will showcase the life of the legendary comedian and is set to star Mike Epps, Oprah Winfrey, Eddie Murphy and, Kate Hudson.
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