Coppola’s Company Names Sagan, Warner Bros. in Suit
- Share via
Director Francis Ford Coppola’s company has accused the late Carl Sagan and Warner Bros. of breaking a contract over the movie “First Contact” in a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The lawsuit asks that the movie stop production because 20 years ago, Sagan had agreed to work with Coppola on a TV series based on the astronomer’s 1985 book “Contact.”
The suit alleges that Sagan later entered into a contract with Warner Bros. for the film. Sagan, a noted scientist who put astronomy into layman’s terms, died Dec. 20.
A Warner Bros. official did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment after business hours Friday.
“First Contact,” a science fiction film about Earth’s encounter with aliens, is scheduled to be released next year.
Coppola’s production company, San Francisco-based Zoetrope Corp., is seeking unspecified damages and a halt of the film.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
