Producer Sues DreamWorks, Saying It ‘Suppressed’ Film

Barry Levinson isn’t the only person upset with DreamWorks’ handling of “An Everlasting Piece.” Jerome O’Connor, one of the film’s producers, filed a $10-million lawsuit against the film company last week, claiming DreamWorks buried the film at the behest of the British government. The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, says “the film was suppressed not because of any artistic or commercial reason, but rather because of political pressure” from the British government, which was unhappy over the film’s mocking portrayal of British soldiers in Northern Ireland during “the Troubles.”

The suit says that by angering the British, the film would’ve been an embarrassment to DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg, who was knighted late last month and who relied on high-level British government assistance for his upcoming World War II TV series, “Band of Brothers,” which was filmed in England with British army troops, military equipment and financial incentives from the British government.

“To me, there’s no question the film was suppressed because of politics,” O’Connor says. “When a Barry Levinson movie only does $75,000, there has to be something else at work. My belief is that this was done to save Spielberg from looking bad before the British. If the movie had been a success, he would’ve looked like a hypocrite, mocking the British in one movie and working with [Prime Minister] Tony Blair and the British army on another production.”

Spielberg would not comment on the suit. DreamWorks issued a statement saying: “It is not our policy to comment on lawsuits, especially a lawsuit that is patently ludicrous.”