'Machete' Owner Sues Over Robert Rodriguez's 'Machete Kills' Sequel

Courtesy of Everett Collection

Dany Trejo in "Machete"

The owners of the Robert Rodriguez action movie Machete have filed a $2 million lawsuit against the filmmaker's production company for allegedly stiffing it on tax credits and lying about the budget of the in-the-works sequel Machete Kills. 

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In a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Rodriguez's Quick Draw Holdings and the production entity Machete Kills LLC, Overnight Productions -- the company run by producer Rick Schwartz -- claims it entered into a deal to allow Rodriguez to make a sequel to his 2010 revenge shoot-'em-up. But Quick Draw allegedly has "failed to obtain a release of the Texas tax credits" earned by the production, which entitles Overnight to terminate its rights grant, and has failed to provide an accurate "approved budget" from which Overnight's correct compensation should be calculated.  

Read the full lawsuit here.

"Although defendants have produced the sequel, they have failed to meet a condition precedent to their grant of rights, forcing plaintiffs to terminate the agreement," the complaint alleges. "Defendants have also failed and refused to provide the required budget information to Overnight Productions so that it can determine the producer fee owed with respect to the sequel. As a result, plaintiffs have been forced to bring this action to confirm the cancellation of the grant of rights and to recover the amounts plaintiffs are owed."

We've reached out to Rodriguez's reps for comment.

The suit, filed by Jeffrey Spitz at L.A.'s Lerman Pointer Spitz, alleges causes of action for breach of contract and declaratory relief.

Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com

Twitter: @THRMattBelloni