Deal reached in ‘Sonny’ credit

Both sides claimed victory in the settlement of a copyright infringement lawsuit over the authorship of “Sonny,” Nicolas Cage’s directorial debut.

In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in August, veteran TV writer Robert Dellinger (“Starsky and Hutch,” “Kojak”) claimed he had co-written the script -- and three others -- with John Carlen, the credited screenwriter, at a federal prison in the 1970s. Carlen, incarcerated for bank robbery, had been taking a creative writing workshop taught by Dellinger, who earlier had served a sentence for extortion.

Dellinger sued Intermedia Films, Gold Circle Films, Cage, and the actor’s production company, Saturn Films, asking for $2 million in damages for failure to identify him as co-author. Although the amount he received was not disclosed, the writer told Daily Variety that it was “healthy.”

“Sonny,” the story of a male prostitute who wants to mend his ways, stars James Franco, Brenda Blethyn and Mena Suvari. The movie will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films on Dec. 27.

Elaine Dutka