Red Granite Pictures Inc., the production behind the long awaited comedy sequel Dumb and Dumber To, has asked a California Court for a declaratory judgment seeking to preclude the producers of the first 1994 film from getting any fees or credits on the new film. The complaint filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on July 15th alleges that the producers of the original movie, Brad Krevoy and Steve Stabler, are not entitled to producer fees or production credit. Mr. Krevoy and Mr. Stabler produced the original surprise hit that was directed by Peter and Bob Farrelly and which starred Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. It ultimately grossed more than $246 million worldwide. The new film is also set to star Carrey and Williams with the Farrelly brothers directing.
According to the complaint, Krevoy and Stabler maintain that they are entitled to involvement in the sequel based on their original contract with New Line Productions, Inc., the company that produced the original film. Red Granite maintains that the two men have no such rights based on the original contract with New Line and further argue that any producer rights were nullified when Red Granite signed a recent quitclaim agreement with New Line granting Red Granite all rights, including sequel rights, related to the first production. As well, Red Granite claims that neither Mr. Krevoy nor Mr. Stabler have been tapped for any preproduction or production services by Red Granite and neither have signed any agreements for any such work on the sequel.
In a statement, Mr. Stabler said that he and Mr. Krevoy were “intimately involved” in the first movie and gave their “hearts and souls” to the comedy. Stabler further alleged that Red Granite had a history of mistreating producers pointing to a lawsuit that the company recently settled with one of the producers of the upcoming Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street.
Universal Pictures has agreed to distribute the movie and finance the picture at a cost of $40 million.
Red Granite Sues to Exclude ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Producers From Sequel