Martin Scorsese settles lawsuit with screenwriter who sued him for taking $500K to develop a WWII movie – then ‘doing nothing’ to get it off the ground

Martin Scorsese has settled a lawsuit against him accusing him of doing nothing to develop a World War II film after being paid $500,000.

Simon Afram, who wrote the screenplay, titled Operation: Fortitude, claimed the legendary filmmaker, 81, “didn’t lift a finger to” help him or his team get their project off the ground, despite accepting the initial payment of six figures to serve as executive producer.

Despite their ambitious plans to begin production in 2022, just months after hiring Scorsese, the aspiring filmmakers claimed in their lawsuit that they couldn’t even talk to him “directly” because his managers repeatedly insisted he was ‘too busy’.

“Defendants never made Mr. Scorsese available for a single telephone conversation, meeting or other interaction,” the lawsuit alleged.

After feeling that Scorsese was no longer interested in the project, Variety reveals that the screenwriter and team “asked for their money back and didn’t get it.”

However, in a cross-complaint, Scorsese’s lawyers stated that he had “personally identified several experienced directors who could be good for the project and contacted them through his representatives,” but “none were interested.”

‘The expectation of those new to the film industry is that a great idea or script will immediately be turned into an Academy Award-winning work of art, while the reality is that it can take many years to even attempt to develop a film Scorsese’s lawyers write this.

Scorsese’s cross-complaint pointed out that his 2019 film The Irishman, which earned 10 Oscar nominations, took 12 years to develop and produce.

The Hollywood icon, who is considered one of the most influential and greatest filmmakers of all time, pointed out that Afram has no experience in the industry.

According to Variety, Scorsese’s lawyers argued “that he was simply unfamiliar with what it takes to get a movie off the ground.”

“This case is the classic example of the novice filmmaker refusing to appreciate the vast difference between expectation and reality in the film world, to the detriment of all involved,” the director’s lawyers wrote.

At this point, Afram only has “two unproduced scripts to his name” and has “spent years trying to develop Operation: Fortitude.

Simon Afram, who wrote the screenplay, titled Operation: Fortitude, claimed the legendary filmmaker, 81, “didn’t lift a finger to” help him or his team get their project off the ground, despite accepting the initial payment of six figures to serve as executive producer

Despite their ambitious plans to begin production in 2022, just months after hiring Scorsese, the aspiring filmmakers claimed in their lawsuit that they couldn’t even talk to him “directly” because his managers repeatedly insisted that he ” was too busy.

Scorsese’s team also claimed that “it was in fact the plaintiffs who owed ‘their client’ $500,000 – the second installment guaranteed by the contract.”

In Afram’s lawsuit, filed in May 2023, he claimed that hiring “Scorsese” cost him and his team “$500,000 and 15 wasted months.”

‘Op-Fortitude’ has “still not completed assembling its cast and crew and has not been able to begin the production process in earnest,” the lawsuit said. ‘Op-Fortitude’ has instead been forced to essentially start from scratch.”

On Thursday, after a year of fighting, the plaintiffs “filed a notice” indicating the case had finally been settled.

Details of their settlement have not been made public.