Overnight Productions today said it wants to cut ties with Robert Rodriguez’s Quick Draw Productions over the rights to Machete Kills. If successful, the court action could stop the release of the film – which Open Road acquired for distribution from Quick Draw last month. The complaint filed Tuesday (read it here), the producers of 2010’s Machete are seeking to terminate the April 2012 agreement in which they granted director/producer Rodriguez the rights to make another action movie about the rogue Mexican Federale. The rights would revert back to Rick Schwartz’s Overnight. The plaintiffs are seeking $2 million in damages
Overnight claims that earlier this month they were not provided with Texas tax credit information as required under the agreement with Rodriguez’s company. And then there is the matter of Schwartz’s fee. “Defendants have also failed and refused to provide the required budget information to Overnight Productions so that it can determine the producer fee owed with respect to the sequel”. The plaintiffs estimate that they are owed in excess of $250,000 in this aspect of their legal action. Overnight Productions has been involved in the making of films such as 2008’s The Lucky Ones and 2010′s Darren Aronofsky-directed Black Swan.

Starring Danny Trejo again in the title role with Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez – who were also in the original – Machete Kills features appearances by Charlie Sheen as the President of the United States, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Lady Gaga and Mel Gibson. The sequel is the second in what it is supposed to be a trilogy, according to director Rodriguez. Machete Kills is expected to be released in the spring of 2013. Overnight Productions and Machete’s Chop Shop are represented by Jeffrey Spitz of Los Angeles’ firm Lerman Pointer & Spitz.

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