Off-screen legal drama for film distributor MGM

Part of the company's failings were due to the fact that just before the movie's release, Sony acquired MGM, and the personnel responsible for distributing Madison were fired, according to the complaint.

As a result, a film that cost $15 million to produce and market netted only $514,000 at the box office, which the plaintiffs say cost them "tens of millions of dollars in downstream royalties."

Perhaps the juiciest part of this complaint claims that Erik Lomis, who at the time was President of MGM domestic distribution, "admitted that he never even bothered to watch Madison... [and] explained MGM's decision to bury Madison by declaring that 'this little shitty movie is not worth more.'"

When the production company complained to MGM about what it felt was a shoddy marketing job that fell short of their agreement, Lomis "threatened to further restrict the release of Madison," and told the film company's representative to "keep [his] mouth shut," with the warning: "you don't want me to start pulling dates from your little film now."

Oh, the drama of the film industry. It's just one of those sometimes-the-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction moments.

Who needs to watch it on screen when real life is full of it already?