Benedict Cumberbatch's Production Company Sued Over Roald Dahl Script

gamerant.com:

Benedict Cumberbatch's production company SunnyMarch is facing legal trouble. The company, whose directors are Cumberbatch and producing partner Adam Ackland, has been sued over the rights to a Roald Dahl script.

In 2019, SunnyMarch entered a co-production agreement with Portobello Productions to adapt the acclaimed author's novel Danny the Champion of the World into a feature film. Besides serving as producer, Cumberbatch was also set to star in the film as William, Danny's father —though the role was subjected to the actor's approval and availability.

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Per Variety, Portobello alleges in their lawsuit that, after hiring and paying screenwriter David Nicholls to pen the script's first draft, they stopped hearing from Cumberbatch and Ackland. However, both men continued working on multiple other projects, including Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Power of the Dog, the latter of which got Cumberbatch nominated for an Academy Award. According to the agreement, both parties were to hire a director to work with Nicholls and revise the script before seeking financing and talent, yet «no material progress has been made in the development of the Film,» the lawsuit alleges. «The parties have not engaged a director and no revised first draft of the Screenplay has been produced,» the document adds.

The agreement also stated that Portobello was entitled to terminate the contract and reacquire the rights to Nicholls' script if Cumberbatch or SunnyMarch had not managed to approve the revised script within 12 months or if the parties couldn't get financing. Moreover, Portobello could terminate the agreement if Cumberbatch and Ackland stopped owning SunnyMarch or its holding