Coppola’s Company Names Sagan, Warner Bros. in Suit
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.
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