Adrien Brody has won an injunction against the producers of an Italian horror movie called Giallo.
A federal judge on Monday ruled that Dario Argento and those behind the film cannot distribute it in the United States without compensating Brody, who plays an FBI special agent.
THR, Esq. first reported the Oscar winner’s $3 million lawsuit last month. Brody argued that producers had lied to keep him from walking off the set after finding out a week into production it was underfunded and the producers had not yet paid him $640,000 into an escrow account.
To keep the star attached to the project, Brody was told new funding was lined up tied to the $2 million sale of Italian distribution rights. Brody was asked to sign an agreement to defer his payment in exchange for the “absolute right to withhold consent to the use of his likeness in the Picture” until he was paid.
The DVD cover features two photos of Brody’s face.
Brody didn’t try to block the film’s sale altogether. But the judge’s ruling means his image likely will not be able to be used in the film or to promote it.
The judge wrote that Brody is “suffering, and will continue to suffer, immediate and irreparable harm” without an injunction.
UPDATE: Brody has released this statement: “I am greatly appreciative of the court’s ruling which protects me, and shows support for all artists who have been manipulated and taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers. At no point did I ever wish to be involved in a legal dispute but after well over a year of attempting to resolve this matter I was left with no other alternative.”
