Los
Angeles(Reuters):
Actor
Randy
Quaid
has
sued
the
studio
and
producers
behind
''Brokeback
Mountain''
for
10
million
dollars,
saying
he
was
underpaid
for
his
supporting
role
in
the
acclaimed
film
about
two
cowboys
who
fall
in
love.
According
to
the
lawsuit,
filed
on
Thursday
in
Los
Angeles
Superior
Court,
producers
tricked
Quaid
into
appearing
in
the
movie
for
what
was
''effectively
a
donation
of
his
time''
by
''falsely
representing
it
as
a
low-budget,
art-house
film,
with
no
prospect
of
making
any
money.''
Quaid,
55,
played
the
no-nonsense
rancher
who
hires
Jack
Twist
(Jake
Gyllenhaal)
and
Ennis
Del
Mar
(Heath
Ledger)
to
tend
his
sheep
on
a
Wyoming
mountain,
where
the
two
men
end
up
in
a
secret
love
affair.
The
lawsuit
names
Focus
Features,
a
specialty
studio
of
General
Electric
Co-controlled
Universal
Pictures,
as
well
as
Focus
co-presidents
James
Schamus
and
David
Linde.
A
Focus
spokeswoman
yesterday
declined
comment
on
the
suit.
The
movie,
which
cost
about
14
million
dollars
to
make,
has
grossed
roughly
160
million
dollars
at
the
box
office
worldwide.
Although
''Brokeback''
drew
critical
raves,
many
believed
its
box-office
potential
was
limited
because
of
its
subject
matter
but
the
film
gained
numerous
honors,
including
eight
Oscar
nominations,
as
it
crossed
over
to
a
mainstream
audience.
Ultimately,
it
earned
Academy
Awards
for
director
Ang
Lee,
as
well
as
its
screenwriters
and
musical
composer.
The
lawsuit
says
Quaid,
an
Oscar
nominee
for
a
supporting
role
in
the
1973
film
''The
Last
Detail,''
has
a
history
of
working
at
reduced
rates
in
''experimental,
non-mainstream''
movies
for
the
sake
of
art.
Quaid
said
he
agreed
to
appear
in
''Brokeback''
for
a
nominal
sum
-
rather
than
his
customary
seven-figure
fee
plus
a
percentage
of
the
box
office
gross
--
because
the
filmmakers
convinced
him
it
was
a
low-budget
picture
with
no
commercial
potential.
The
director
himself,
who
is
not
named
as
a
defendant
in
the
suit,
told
the
actor:
''We
have
very
little
money,
everyone
is
making
a
sacrifice
to
make
this
film,''
the
suit
says.
However,
the
suit
claims
that
''from
day
one,
defendants
fully
intended
the
film
would
not
be
made
on
a
low
budget,
would
be
given
a
worldwide
release
and
would
be
supported
as
the
studio
picture
it
always
was
secretly
intended
to
be.''
Moreover,
the
suit
says,
Linde
obtained
Universal's
backing
for
''Brokeback''
by
presenting
it
to
his
studio
bosses
as
a
film
''that
was
going
to
make
money.''