Producer sues Netflix for $105 million over missing Nic Cage thriller

Netflix is facing a $105 million (£78 million) lawsuit from the filmmakers behind the unreleased war thriller Fortitude, starring Nicolas Cage.

The streamer has been accused of losing an unencrypted copy of the film during a theft at its Los Angeles office, potentially compromising the film's future distribution, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fortitude, directed by Simon West, is a World War II spy thriller based on British intelligence operations designed to thwart the Nazis. The film stars Cage alongside Chasing Liberty star Matthew Goode, Ed Skrein, Jordi Mollà and Alice Eve.

The filmmakers claim Netflix mishandled a screening copy of the film that was delivered to the company during acquisition talks. The filmmakers argue that the stolen drive has damaged the film's value because any potential distributor must now be informed that an unsecured copy of the movie was taken before release.

Netflix has denied any wrongdoing.

"Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards," a company spokesperson shared in a statement to media.

"While we do not own the rights to Fortitude, we take content security seriously and have taken extra measures to support the filmmaker and his team. This includes conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorised distribution or sale."