Accusations of deception and sabotage are at the heart of a new lawsuit filed by the mother of deceased rap legend Tupac Shakur against Morgan Creek.
Afeni Shakur’s Amaru Entertainment has filed a $10 million cross complaint that claims Morgan Creek head James Robinson and other tried to strong-arm a deal for the movie rights for a biopic on Tupac Shakur.
The complaint later alleges that Morgan Creek sabotaged the venture when Amaru attempted to set up the movie elsewhere.
“The Morgan Creek lawsuit is heavy-handed interference with the Tupac movie,” a rep for Amaru stated. “It has no merit whatsoever. Our cross-complaint is going to result in Morgan Creek having to pay millions in compensatory and punitive damages for harming our business.”
The cross complaint is the latest development to occur regarding the creation of the biopic.
Morgan Creek was the first to sound off on the issue by filing a lawsuit last month in Los Angeles Superior Count.
According to that lawsuit, the company claimed Amaru backed out of a done deal to sell life rights for a biopic about Tupac.
Amaru is noted for controlling the estate of the late entertainer.
Morgan Creek said it received a final term sheet in December that detailed everything required to reach an agreement.
Although the proposal was accepted by Morgan Creek executives in late January, Amaru’s complaint alleges that it was a proposal, not a deal.
Due to the success of Notorious, a film centering on Tupac Shakur’s musical rival the Notorious B.I.G., Morgan Creek executives allegedly arranged a conference call with an attorney from Amaru to “accept” the counteroffer.
Executives then allegedly began telling other studios and producers that Morgan Creek owned rights to the Tupac project in an attempt to keep other companies from possibly competing for the rights to the film.
The alleged actions by Morgan Creek were not well received by Amaru as the cross complaint labeled it as “a sleazy and illegal ploy to coerce (Amaru) into a deal.”
In addition to seeking a court declaration that there never was a deal, Amaru is demanding that at least $10 million dollars in damages be awarded by Morgan Creek for derailing Amaru’s efforts to talk with potential studios and producers.