A Law Suit You Can’t Refuse
The estate of “Godfather” creator Mario Puzo is suing Paramount Pictures for breach of contract over proceeds from the video game based on the 1972 movie. According to document filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Puzo’s son and estate executor, Anthony, claims the video game falls under a 1992 agreement struck between Paramount and Puzo that promised him a “significant share” of “audiovisual” products derived from his creation. “In material breach of the audio-visual products agreement, Paramount has failed and refused to pay the Puzo Estate the sums due it in respect of the Godfather game,” said the court filing. Puzo, who died in 1999, originally sold the film rights to his Corleone saga to Paramount for a relatively low sum because he was a struggling, unknown author at the time. In 2006 Paramount licensed Electronic Arts to create a video game based on the characters and story lines of the movie. The $1 million suit claims that , because the game uses character created by Mario Puzo, his estate is due a portion of the proceeds under the 1992 agreement. “You hear them. You see them. That’s audiovisual to me,” said the estate’s lawyer, Bert Fields.