A lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Kevin starts out with very harsh words for the independent studio that backed the 1991 blockbuster.

It alleges: “Every actor hopes to star in a great movie that makes substantial profits. But if you’re hoping to earn profits based on the success of your film and you want to be paid on a timely basis, then one company you certainly do not want to do business with is defendant Morgan Creek Productions.”

Kevin, represented by Marty Singer and Michael Holtz at Lavely & Singer, says that Morgan Creek promised it would share profits with him, but “when it came time to report and account … Morgan Creek was less than forthcoming”, with no participation statements rendered in 2010 and 2011 and late statements from 2004 to 2009.

THE RESPONSE

Morgan Creek CEO James Robinson responded: “Why is it after 22 years Mr Costner finds fault with our accounting procedures or, for that matter, our way of doing business? We have paid him over US$40 million. I think we’ve been very nice to him. I wonder how much money he has made from other films where he is participant. We’ve been very straight with him.”