CRASH - CRASH DIRECTOR SUES OVER ROYALTIES DISPUTE

CRASH director PAUL HAGGIS is suing one of his co-producers on the Oscar-winning movie over $4.7 million (GBP2.3 million) in unpaid royalties. Haggis claims he is owed the millions in profits from the 2005 box office hit and has accused Bob Yari of breach of contract. The filmmaker is disputing an agreement signed in 2002 regarding the distribution of royalties, which depended on the film's financial success. Crash, which went on to win three Academy Awards, was originally made on a budget of just $6.5 million (GBP3.25 million) plus $1 million (GBP500,000) in financing, but went on to gross over $100 million (GBP50 million) worldwide - more than 10 times its original cost. However, Yari has argued in court documents that the movie was not as profitable as it seemed, because various additional production costs had not been taken into account. Haggis is not the only person suing Yari over Crash's financial issues - legal suits have also been launched by Bobby Moresco, who co-wrote the film, and co-producer Cathy Schulman.