‘Obsession’ Producer Files Lawsuit Claiming She Was Cut Out of Profits Despite “Rescuing” Cut

An executive producer on Obsession who allegedly “rescued“ the box office smash hit from a bad edit is suing two fellow producers for cutting her out of her share of the profits.

In a lawsuit filed in California state court on Monday, producer Leonora Ann Darby accuses Tea Shop Productions‘ co-founders and her colleagues James Harris and Mark Lane of reneging on an agreement to treat her as an equal producer at the company and not acknowledging her key role on Obsession , with financial ramifications.

Though she was formally credited as an executive producer on Obsession , the lawsuit argues Darby acted as a lead producer within the functional, internal definition used by Tea Shop Productions. Conveniently, the lawsuit alleges, once Obsession became a major hit — recently crossing $500 million worldwide on a reported $750,000 budget — she was boxed out of net profit participation previously promised for projects she lead-produced, despite her significant work on the film.