Writer sues Mel Gibson over ‘Passion’ payment

A SCREENWRITER is suing Mel Gibson and his production company, claiming he was misled by the actor-director into accepting a small payment for writing The Passion of the Christ, and was refused extra money when the film became a blockbuster.

American Benedict Fitzgerald claims when he was asked to write a script about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Gibson told him the movie would cost between $4 million (€2.7m) and $7m (€4.8m), according to the lawsuit filed.

Mr Fitzgerald also alleged Gibson promised he would not receive any money from the film and any profit would be distributed to people who worked on it.

Gibson stated he did not want “money on the back of what he considered a personal gift to his (Roman Catholic) faith”, claims the lawsuit. Mr Fitzgerald, who shared screenwriting credits with Gibson, claimed he agreed to “a salary substantially less than what he would have taken had he known the true budget for the film”, which the lawsuit claimed had an estimated budget of $25m (€17m) to $50m (€34m). The 2004 movie went on to gross several hundred million dollars.

He is asking for at least $5m.

Mr Fitzgerald claims he wrote the script for the film and devoted several years of his life to it. Because of the amount of work he put in, “he experienced substantial cash flow problems”, claims the lawsuit as his “dedication trumped fiscal self-interest”. The screenwriter claims he struggled to receive a production bonus of $75,000 (€51,000) which had been promised to him. He goes on to claim he eventually only received the money “because he permitted writing credit to be shared with Gibson”. The lawsuit claims fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and seeks unspecified damages. It also names Gibson’s Icon Productions LLC as a defendant.

Gibson could not be reached for comment.