Anthony Puzo, son of late author Mario Puzo, has filed a lawsuit claiming that Paramount Pictures owes the estate royalties from the 2006 Electronic Arts video game based on The Godfather book and movie. According to Daily Variety, Puzo is seeking more than $1 million in the breach of contract motion.
Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the suit sites a revenue sharing agreement that Mario Puzo supposedly struck with Paramount before his death in 1999. Paramount reportedly got rights to the Godfather book for a steal since Puzo was was a struggling writer with a family to support at the time. The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, of course ended up becoming box office smash that spawned two sequels and is indelibly engrained in pop culture the world over.
Developed by EA through a licensing relationship with Viacom Consumer Products, The Godfather: The Game has gamers create their own mob character and relive classic moments from the film in open-world, non-linear action-adventure gameplay. Players have various choices for solving the family’s problems with violence, skillful diplomacy or a cunning mixture of both.
