Tommy Lee Jones Sues Paramount for Failing to Pay Him

Tommy Lee Jones has filed suit against Paramount, and others, for not paying him for work related to the movie No Country for Old men. Jones claims he is still owed more than $10 million under his contract.

In the lawsuit, Jones claims he signed a contract with N.M. Classics on April 3, 2006, agreeing to act in the film, as well as to provide "additional related services" for the movie’s promotion. In exchange, the lawsuit says the company promised to pay Jones a fixed "up-front" fee and, depending upon the film’s financial success, "significant box-office bonuses and ’back-end’ compensation."

According to the lawsuit, Jones’ accepted a reduced up-front fee in exchange for "significant" compensation if the film did well. No Country for Old Men later went on to win four Academy awards, including Best Picture, two Golden Globe awards, and several other critical recognitions. It was a giant commercial success, making more than $160 million.

In the lawsuit, Jones argues that in December 2007 — a month after the film’s nationwide release — Paramount representatives told him that the contract supposedly contained a "mistake," regarding "a major issue involving the deduction for home video expenses." According to the lawsuit, Jones claims company officials revealed they were aware of the supposed mistake before he signed the contract and acted in the movie and before it became a commercial success.

On January 10, the lawsuit says, company officials contended a second "mistake" had been made in the contract, regarding the formula in determining box-office bonuses.

Overall, the lawsuit contends, Jones has been deprived of more than $10 million. In the suit, Jones requests an auditor be appointed to review the company’s books and records and determine how much he is actually owed.

Jones also argues the company breached his contract by failing to pay him the bonuses and wrongly deducting unauthorized expenses from his back-end pay. He says he was fraudulently made to render his services under a contract the company knew contained mistakes, though they didn’t inform him of them until after the movie had been made, by which time it was too late.

Movie studios keep trying to screw the actors, the writers, and everyone working on their movies, out of their just compensation. Lawyers for all involved should do a better job writing contracts that can and will be enforced by the courts to stop this nonsense.

Paramount is the same studio that had a big public battle with Tom Cruise not so long ago.