SHORT TAKES : One ‘Dreams’ Firm Sues Another

Actor Kevin Costner and Universal Pictures Inc. are suing a video company, saying it is trying to profit from the hit movie “Field of Dreams” by marketing a film in which Costner played a minor role.

The U.S. District Court lawsuit says Prism Entertainment Corp. has distributed a 1985 film, “Chasing Dreams,” in which Costner played an “extremely minor role.”

The videocassette cover prominently displays Costner’s picture and name, according to the lawsuit filed Monday.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction barring “misrepresentations” in the marketing of “Chasing Dreams,” Prism’s profits from the videocassette, and unspecified punitive damages.

“ ‘Chasing Dreams’ was neither critically acclaimed nor financially successful,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Frank Rothman, wrote. “It was shown only in approximately 40 movie theaters in the midwestern United States.”

Prism President Barry Collier declined comment, saying he had not seen the lawsuit.

In the 1989 hit “Field of Dreams,” Costner plays a farmer who builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield where ghost players, including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other members of the 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” come to play.

Costner is shown on the cover of “Chasing Dreams” wearing a baseball uniform but does not play a baseball player in the film, according to the lawsuit.

“Field of Dreams” has grossed $63 million since its release last year but has yet to be released on videocassette, the lawsuit says. Universal owns U.S. distribution rights to the film.