The estate of the late Tony Scott has officially rejected CAA’s efforts to seek more than $1 million in commissions. In a Rejection of Creditor’s Claims document (read it here) dated March 8, estate representative R. Dennis Luderer ticked the box next to “the
claim is rejected for $1,040,522 + contingent costs.” The estate rep gave no reason for the action. The only other new information on the form was that the value of the late director’s estate was estimated as $1.25 million. CAA now has 90 days to respond to the estate’s rejection. The 68-year-old Scott died August 19, 2012, jumping off LA County’s Vincent Thomas Bridge that spans San Pedro and Terminal Island. The agency filed the claim in LA Superior Court on January 28 for the standard 10% cut from their client’s work on the films Man On Fire, Unstoppable, The Taking Of Pelham 123, Deju Vu and his directing duties on the video game Criminal. “This is a standard legal procedure. Tony had a wonderful relationship with CAA for 20 years and the estate will settle this as quickly as possible. This is nothing out of the ordinary,” a spokesperson for the estate told Deadline at the time. At present, the only hearing for the estate is scheduled for May 16, 2014.
Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.


He owed commissions on all those old properties? They sure as hell seem to have cut him a lot of slack over the years. He owed more in commission than what his estate is worth? That seems strange as well as the estate amount does too.
The value of Tony Scott’s estate was estimated at only $1.25 million? That doesn’t seem like a lot for someone at his level of success.
It’s not. I’ve heard and… Yes, so it reads. Reality? Not. Haven’t you ever heard of creative bookeeping? I’ve been told it’s an Entertainment Industry standard, founded by them. How else can one explain that after films, studios, etc. making billions of dollars, 99.9% of them/companies don’t make profits; or just a little profit. Tony’s estate’s just following their example I surmise. Guess he learned from the best. I’m just saying.. ’til someone proves otherwise. Smerk.
How is Tony Scott only worth 1.2 million?
An estate valued at $1.25 million from a guy whose movies raked in over $2 billion at the box office alone…along with DVD sales/rentals and tv…
im more surprised at this than how he chose to leave this world.
CAA discovers “estimated” value of Scott’s estate, files motion to capture 83% of that in “commissions.”
He’s worth much more than that amount so by “estate” they might mean his house but even that is probably worth more. CAA and Tony’s heirs should agree to give this money to charity. CAA doesn’t need this money and it could do a lot of good if they give it to a mental health clinic here in L.A. that helps other people who have suicidal thoughts. They should set it up as an endowment The Tony Scott Fund or something like that. Then other people might contribute money to it and it will grow in time to more than the million they start it with.
The bulk of his wealth is in a trust, that’s why his estate is only 1.2 million. Probate 101, people.
No need to be smug, Mikey.
Get back to rolling calls for your boss.
Oh, that explains it. Probate 101. Me bad. Sorry about the ‘creative’ bookeeping comment. Wrote wrong, read, heard right? Smerk, again. Wish ‘I’ had those $$$ problems. No matter. Sad thing is a great, talent gentleman’s gone.
It is very easy to hide the true value of an estate by putting the assets in trusts. I’m guessing that most of his real estate holdings, back-end participation in his films, ownership in various companies, etc. are in trusts, which protects his assets from the tax man.
Leave it to CAA to try to get money out of a dead man. Very classy.
But the article’s inference is that C.A.A. has to get the money owed from the estate. There’s no mention of the trust. Reading 101, Michael. And if there is no problem why did they have to go to court to collect on commissions from properties from years ago? Years. A lot of old deals.
I hadn’t even signed up for Probate 101 before so now I know — thanks, Michael!
Blood suckers CAA. Bottom feeders, trying to get money out of a dead man on commissions from films made a decade ago. Leaches. Fuck you, CAA. You make agents looks bad, and that’s no easy feat.
Yes, learning all of this California probate stuff. An “estate” subject to probate is any asset that is not: in trust or left to a Payable Upon Death (POD) beneficiary (such as checking, savings accounts as well as IRA’s and other investment instruments). It is the most complex, frustrating, time-consuming process (probate), so make sure your assets are not subject to it, if possible!
i’m not sure why so many comments are anti-caa. if they did the work in getting him the jobs, why shouldn’t they get their commission? And it’s not like the money is being taken from starving children or something.
and i don’t know how commissions work — do they also apply on participation payments? maybe this is how they built up over time, or maybe he took an advance from his agency against future participations or something.
Tony Scott certainly had a) a loan-out company, b) a series of living trusts and c) someone who helped him plan his estate. He managed to unfortunately die with some reasonably large assets not in those trusts. Those assets must be probated.
CAA has to cover its bases legally and put in a claim on the estate in case no settlement is reached with the Trustees. It is very likely that neither CAA nor the Scott Trustees wants any form of a public fight.
That said, it’s not Michael’s fault that Deadline didn’t ask someone who deals with estate planning or probate about this before publishing something that looks like Tony was “only” worth just over $1 million.
For all I know, there may be some fight brewing over the commissions, but so far, this is pretty standard stuff.