HOLLYWOOD - Robert Wagner has a bone to pick with Charlie's studio.The veteran actor, best known for starring in the '80s TV hit Hart to Hart and the recent Austin Powers movies, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Sony Pictures Entertainment claiming he is entitled to profits made from the two Charlie's Angels movies due to a deal he made on the development of the 1970s television series, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit details how Wagner and his late wife, actress Natalie Wood, became financially attached to ABC's original Charlie's Angels series when they agreed to star in a 1974 TV movie called The Affair for producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. According to Reuters, the contract gave the acting couple part interest in proposals for five TV shows that Spelling-Goldberg Productions pitched to ABC for the 1974-1975 season, including Charlie's Angels, which ran from 1976 to 1981.
Pursuant to the terms of the original contract, Wagner claims Sony--which has since assumed all rights to the series from Spelling's production company--has refused to pay him his share of the profits from the 2000 film Charlie's Angels, which made $125 million in the U.S., and its 2003 sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, which opened late June and has made $67 million so far.
Reuters reports the lawsuit asks the court to require Sony to include profits from the films in calculating Wagner's share of net profits for the TV series, and to turn over all information and financial records regarding the making of the movies.
"This has to do with whether or not his entitlement to a share in the television series extends to the movie," Wagner's attorney, Samuel Pryor, told Reuters.