The Weinstein Company Settles $50M Lawsuit Over 'Escape From Planet Earth'

The Weinstein Company and Protocol Pictures have settled a $50 million lawsuit over the animated film "Escape From Planet Earth," according to a court document filed in New York Supreme Court last week and obtained by TheWrap on Tuesday.

According to the stipulation, both parties have discontinued the lawsuit with prejudice. Neither party will assume court costs from the other party. Further details of the settlement were not released.

Also read: Weinstein Sued over "Escape From Planet Earth," Plans to Countersue

The lawsuit, filed by Protocol in March 2011, claimed that the Weinstein Company had sabotaged the animated film's release, and paid writer and director Tony Leech and producer Brian Inerfeld $500,000 to keep quiet about it.

Inerfeld and Leech, who previously worked with the Weinstein company on the film "Hoodwinked," claimed that the Weinstein company overspent on production, gave conflicting script notes and paid talent including actor Kevin Bacon to not participate in the film.

The lawsuit alleged that the studio promised profits meant for the producers to other investors.

The Weinstein Company and Protocol did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment about the settlement.

At the time the lawsuit was filed, Weinstein attorney Bert Fields denied the allegations, saying Inerfeld and Leech were paid more than $2 million, which their contract called for. Fields also said that the Weinstein Company would countersue.

"The studio paid them because they said they were going to go public with horrendously false accusations," Fields said. "They held off. Now they've sued. So we will sue them out here to get back the money, as well as money paid for producing and directing services."

Delayed for more than a year, "Escape From Planet Earth," which features the voice talent of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jessica Alba, was finally released on Feb. 15, and has performed better than expected, grossing more than $35 million since its release.

Pamela Chelin and Todd Cunningham contributed to this report.

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