Michael Lewis on ‘Blind Side’ Lawsuit: “Studio System” At Fault For Paltry Movie Profits

Winston Cho
·3 min read
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Michael Lewis is deflecting blame at him and the family accused of exploiting the retired NFL player Michael Oher, the subject of his best-selling book The Blind Side, toward the “Hollywood studio system.”

Lewis told The Washington Post that he and the family of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy have each received roughly $350,000 from the profits of the movie. He said that the Tuohys planned to evenly split their share with Oher, who declined the payments in what may be a prelude to a lawsuit. They subsequently deposited his royalty checks in a trust fund for Oher’s son, he added.

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“Michael Oher should join the writers strike,” the author said in an interview with the Post on Wednesday. “It’s outrageous how Hollywood accounting works, but the money is not in the Tuohys’ pockets.”

Lewis contested accusations from Oher that the Tuohys lied about adopting him and cut him out of a deal for the rights to the book the film is based off of. He and the family negotiated a deal with 20th Century Studios giving them and their two children $225,000 and 2.5 percent of all future net proceeds from the movie. The agreement was already in place when Alcon Entertainment, which fully financed the movie, picked up the rights.

While the film made roughly half a billion dollars, the profit participation hasn’t amounted to much money, according to Lewis. He said he’s brought up the issue to his agents at CAA.

Defending the Tuohys from accusations that they lied about adopting Oher, Lewis claimed the family chose to pursue a conservatorship because of red flags raised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association over the athlete’s choice to attend the University of Mississippi, where the Tuohys are prominent boosters. It was also quicker than a traditional adoption, he said.

“What I feel really sad about is I watched the whole thing up close,” Lewis continued. “They showered him with resources and love. That he’s suspicious of them is breathtaking. The state of mind one has to be in to do that — I feel sad for him.”

The saga highlights the alleged exploitation of famous people through conservatorships — years after Britney Spears was freed from her conservators — on top of Hollywood accounting practices that that don’t allow profit participants to share in the success of projects.

On Monday, Oher claimed in a petition filed on Monday in Tennessee probate court that the Tuohys tricked him into signing documents that appointed them as his conservators and deprived him of the rights to his name, image and likeness as well as millions of dollars the family allegedly got for signing away the rights to the book the film is based off of. The Tuohys responded by alleging that the athlete fabricated the accusations and tried to extort them out of $15 million in a “cynical attempt to drum up attention in the middle of his latest book tour.”

While The Blind Side earned praise for Sandra Bullock’s performance, which scored her an Academy Award for best actress, the movie has been criticized for propagating negative racial stereotypes in which poor, Black children are only worth saving because of their athletic potential instead of their intellect or character.

Oher, who was portrayed in the 2009 drama by Quinton Aaron, has been vocal about his dislike for the movie for portraying him as mentally slow. He’s said that it negatively impacted his NFL career.

In an interview at a 2007 event hosted by Google, Lewis said that Oher is “on the dean’s list at Ole Miss, which says a lot about the dean’s list at Ole Miss” when asked what happened to the athlete.

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