A legal battle is unfolding between Netflix and the producer of an unreleased World War II drama after a digital copy of the film reportedly disappeared from the streaming giant’s offices. The lawsuit claims the missing copy has put years of work and millions of dollars at risk, while Netflix argues the producer failed to follow standard security practices when delivering the movie. The dispute has quickly become one of the most unusual legal challenges involving an unreleased Hollywood production.
At the center of the case is Fortitude, a war drama starring Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley. Although there is currently no indication that the film has leaked online, its producer believes the theft alone has damaged the project’s commercial value and is seeking more than $100 million in damages.
Producer accuses Netflix of negligence
According to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Swiss producer and screenwriter Simon Afram is suing Netflix for $105 million, alleging the company failed to properly secure an unencrypted digital copy of Fortitude after it was delivered for review. The complaint says Afram spent seven years developing the project and invested approximately $45 million to bring the film to completion.
The lawsuit states that an associate producer personally delivered a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) to Netflix headquarters in June so the company could evaluate whether it wanted to acquire the film’s distribution rights. When the associate producer later attempted to collect the drive, the complaint alleges Netflix became unresponsive for several days before confirming that the copy had been stolen.
The lawsuit includes an email attributed to Sean Berney, Netflix’s Director of Original Film, acknowledging the incident. “This is a first for us,” Berney wrote. “Unfortunately, someone stole a good amount of drives from our office desks this past week. We’ve been working through this with our security teams to no luck.”
Afram argues Netflix should have stored the drive in a secure location instead of leaving it on an office desk where it could allegedly be taken. The complaint further claims the company has not shared meaningful details about its internal investigation or clarified whether law enforcement was formally notified.
Netflix says industry safeguards were not followed
Netflix has strongly disputed responsibility for the incident, maintaining that the film was delivered without the standard security protections typically used for unreleased productions. According to sources familiar with the company’s procedures, films are generally shared either through password-protected online platforms or as encrypted DCPs that require a separate Key Delivery Message (KDM) before they can be viewed.
In a statement, Netflix said, “Netflix disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards.”
However, Afram’s lawsuit argues that his production team followed Netflix’s own delivery instructions. The complaint points to communication stating, “If the DCP is encrypted, please have the keys open from the time the asset lands through EOD on 6/16.” According to the filing, the associate producer informed Netflix that the copy being delivered was unencrypted and requested that it be deleted after the screening.
Netflix also said it has taken additional steps to protect the project despite not owning its distribution rights. “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,” the company said. “This includes conducting a thorough investigation and offering to monitor known piracy sites for any unauthorized distribution or sale.”
No leak has surfaced, but tensions continue to grow
At present, there is no evidence that Fortitude has appeared on piracy websites or been distributed illegally. People familiar with the matter reportedly believe the stolen drives may have simply been taken for their hardware value rather than for the films stored on them. Even so, Afram argues that the uncertainty surrounding the missing copy has already reduced the movie’s exclusivity and could affect future distribution negotiations.
The lawsuit also adds another chapter to the film’s already complicated history. In 2023, Afram sued acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese, accusing him of accepting $500,000 to serve as an executive producer without helping move the project forward. Scorsese’s legal team rejected those allegations and argued Afram had unrealistic expectations about the filmmaking process. That dispute was ultimately resolved through an out-of-court settlement the following year.
Relations between Netflix and the producer have also become increasingly strained since the alleged theft. In its statement, the company claimed it had declined to provide details of its ongoing investigation because of the legal strategy adopted by Afram’s representatives. “We have declined to share anything about our ongoing investigation with the law firm representing Simon Afram, given their hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation – including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith,” Netflix said.
With both sides presenting sharply different versions of events, the case is likely to focus on who ultimately bore responsibility for safeguarding the unreleased film. As the lawsuit moves through the courts, the future of Fortitude and the outcome of its long production journey remain uncertain.
