A producer has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streaming service of losing an unreleased copy of a Nicolas Cage war film and seeking damages of at least $105 million. The complaint, filed on Wednesday, centers on the film “Fortitude,” a World War II drama featuring Cage, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Ron Perlman.
Produced by Simon Afram, who reportedly invested over $45 million of his own funds into the project, “Fortitude” dramatizes Operation Fortitude—the Allied deception campaign designed to mislead Adolf Hitler and the German military during the war. The film, which has not yet been released or acquired by a distributor, was described in court documents as blending elements of “Ocean’s Eleven” with “Inglourious Basterds.”
According to the lawsuit, trouble began when an unencrypted copy of the film was delivered to Netflix for a private screening on June 15. Daniel Haido, an associate producer on “Fortitude,” provided the physical drive containing the film and instructed Netflix staff to delete its contents after viewing. Haido also requested that Netflix notify him when the drive was ready for collection; however, the complaint alleges that the company failed to respond to repeated communications seeking to retrieve the device.
Ten days later, on June 25, Netflix informed Haido that the drive had been stolen from its offices. In an email included in the lawsuit, Sean Berney, a director for original films at Netflix, acknowledged that several drives had gone missing from the office but said the company’s security team had been unable to recover them. Berney offered to either reimburse Afram’s company for the missing drive or produce a new digital cinema package.
Afram’s legal filing contends that the loss of the film’s sole copy severely damaged its marketability and exclusivity, arguing that no buyer would invest tens of millions of dollars in acquiring and promoting the film given the risk of premature, unauthorized distribution. The lawsuit claims the incident has effectively impaired the film’s commercial value and seeks economic damages exceeding $105 million.
In response, Netflix stated it is investigating the matter and has offered to monitor piracy websites for any unauthorized distribution of “Fortitude.” The company denied responsibility for the loss, noting the film was delivered without industry-standard security measures. Netflix’s statement also accused Afram’s legal representatives of engaging in aggressive demands, including an immediate request for $165 million, rather than attempting to resolve the issue cooperatively.
“We dispute any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper safeguards,” Netflix said, emphasizing its commitment to content security despite not owning the rights to “Fortitude.”
A representative for Afram declined further comment, saying the lawsuit itself reflects their position. The film remains unreleased as both parties navigate the dispute.