Change of Jobs Creates a Scene

Call it a scene stealer.

No sooner was Patrick Wachsberger being trumpeted Wednesday as the new chief executive of film distributor Summit Group than his former employer, Odyssey Entertainment Ltd., announced it is suing him.

As chief executive at Odyssey, Wachsberger primarily licensed film distribution rights and also served as an executive producer on some movies, including the TriStar hit “Sniper.”

But in a lawsuit filed by Odyssey, executives allege that they discovered Wachsberger was doing something else: working secretly for Summit, a Santa Monica-based firm--which is owned by producers Arnon Milchan, Andy Vajna and Bernd Eichinger--on film projects when he should have been doing that for Odyssey. The Los Angeles company added that Wachsberger was fired as a result.

Wachsberger called the allegations “absolute, pure fiction.” He adds that Odyssey filed the lawsuit only after learning he plans to sue to recover money he claims he is owed.

Odyssey lawyer Bert Fields called Wachsberger’s allegations “absolute rubbish. Any employer in the world would have responded just the way Odyssey did.”