Benedict Fitzgerald

Benedict Fitzgerald (born March 9, 1949) is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for 2004 film The Passion of the Christ with its director, Mel Gibson. His other writing credits include a television screenplay of Moby-Dick in 1998 (uncredited) and Wise Blood in 1979. He is a consulting producer on the Paramount+ television series Evil.

Early life

Benedict is the son of Sally and poet/critic Robert Fitzgerald. When he was a child, one of his babysitters was novelist Flannery O'Connor.

Lawsuit

On February 11, 2008, Benedict Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against Mel Gibson and the production company Icon Productions, alleging the unfair deprivation of compensation and deception on the overall expense of the film production budget after the blockbuster box office success of the film The Passion of the Christ, including, but not limited to, "fraud, breach of contract & unjust enrichment" seeking unspecified damages.[1]

According to his lawsuit, Fitzgerald says he "accepted a salary substantially less than what he would have taken had he known the true budget for the film," agreeing to an undisclosed "relatively small salary," a $75,000 production bonus, another $75,000 if the movie broke even, and then five percent of revenues.[2] Fitzgerald received a loan of $200,000 from Gibson in December 2003 backed by his share of the film's future profits as collateral.

In May 2009, Gibson agreed to an undisclosed settlement with Fitzgerald. Details of the settlement, agreed at Los Angeles Superior Court, were not released. Gibson's representatives have not commented on the settlement.[3]

Filmography

Film

Television

References
  1. "Gibson sued over Passion payments". 12 February 2008.
  2. "Gibson sued over Passion payments". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 February 2008.
  3. "Mel Gibson settles Passion of Christ Script lawsuit". 19 May 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2013.


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