Executive producer of 'Obsession' sues over her cut of the profits

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Set us as preferred “Obsession,” the indie horror movie written and directed by Curry Barker, has proved to be one of this year’s most successful films.Made for a reported budget of about $750,000, it has earned more than $500 million at the global box office since Focus Features released it in May — the biggest hit in the distributor’s history, according to a new lawsuit.But one of its producers, Leonora Ann Darby, is claiming she hasn’t received her share of the profit.Darby, who rose to become one of three producers at Tea Shop Productions, the U.K.

company behind the movie, sued Tea Shop, its Delaware affiliate The Tea Shop & Film Company, and co-founders James Harris and Mark Lane in Los Angeles County Superior Court.The 135-page complaint lays out 10 causes of action — among them, breach of contract, retaliation for wage complaints, whistleblower retaliation and unfair competition — and describes a seven-year pattern of “unequal treatment and broken compensation promises.” Darby has demanded a jury trial.Harris and Lane allegedly treated Darby “as their subordinate, including in a highly demeaning and gendered manner,” and continually refused to compensate her properly, “culminating in ruthlessly cutting Darby out of the overall net profits” for “Obsession,” the lawsuit says.“Ms.

Darby has brought serious and substantial claims, supported by a detailed factual record,” Darby’s lawyer Thomas K.Richards of the Beverly Hills firm Singh, Singh & Trauben, said in a statement.

“She is confident in her case and intends to pursue it fully.” Tea Shop has already rejected the core of her claim.In an Aug.

13 letter attached to the complaint as an exhibit, the company’s lawyer wrote that Darby “was an employee and, subsequently, a consultant” who has never been a member, sha...