Happy FILM FRIDAY! One of Hollywood’s most beloved and notorious figures is on the precipice of releasing a film that took over 26 years to complete! Stifled by legal troubles and delays the film, Silence, is ready to hit theaters in the coming months
The plan to create this motion picture began way back in 1990 when Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks agreed to manifest a screenplay for Silence, which is based on a highly acclaimed Japanese novel. Over the years, Scorsese incurred multiple suits by the production company (Cecchi Gori Pictures) that acquired rights to the film. Eventually, in 2013 the suits on Scorsese were squashed as both parties agreed to a settlement and allowed Scorsese to begin directing the film.
Alas, those would not be the end of the legal troubles for this project. Amidst financial concerns, the film was on the verge of shutting down until investors stepped in to provide much-needed capital. In 2002, Cecchi Gori made an ancillary agreement with Michal Gordon to write the screenplay for Silence and also granted Nicholas Kazan the job of polishing that screenplay. Once the tentative credits for the film were released it included Scorsese, Cocks, Gordon, and Kazan.
These credits led to an arbitration battle because Scorsese claims that he had never seen nor heard the screenplay created by Gordon and Kazan. In arbitration, the holding sided with Scorsese and granted credit only to him and Cocks. Kazan was displeased and pursued further legal matters claiming that a provision was triggered entitling him to compensation. The parties reached a settlement and Silence is on the way with green lights….for now.
Credit: Mark Milshteyn
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