A FILM starring Mel Gibson as the Scot who created the Oxford English Dictionary could be scrapped after the film star and the director sued studio bosses to stop its release.
The Professor and the Madman sees the Braveheart star play Sir James Murray, who, with help from a convicted killer, founded the dictionary.
Filming took place in Dublin last year but a massive row has broken out after production company Voltage started showing a cut of the movie with which the Oscar-winning star was unhappy.
He wanted extra scenes to be shot at Oxford University, where much of the story of the film actually took place, but claims the producers refused.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, Gibson, 61, alleges that Voltage has violated its agreement, which gives him approval of the final cut of the £20 million film.
Director Farhad Safinia says he was thrown off the project, and is suing for copyright infringement and defamation. He has also asked for the current version of the film to be destroyed.
However Voltage chief executive Nicolas Chartier hit back saying Gibson and Safinia had originally agreed to shoot the Oxford scenes - which involved 200 extras - at the Library of Trinity College in Ireland, but changed their minds at the last minute.
He claimed: “These issues caused the production to extend two days past the schedule of 40 shooting days and caused additional costs to the production, which was over budget by approximately $1.3 million.
“Mr Gibson claims to have final cut while refusing to watch the picture, work on the picture, or edit it.”
Gibson’s lawsuit, filed by attorney Jeffrey McFarland, states: “The agreements require that things such as material changes to the screenplay, change of director from Mr Safinia to someone else, the final production budget and schedule, and selection of filming locations be agreed to by Icon and Mr Gibson.
“Further, as extra insurance that his vision of the film was protected, Mr Gibson has the right, if necessary, to select the final cut of the film that is released between a cut prepared by Mr Safinia and a cut prepared by Voltage.”
The film is based on Simon Winchester’s book and revolves around Murray discovering that his contributor William Minor, played by Sean Penn, was a convicted killer and patient in the Broadmoor criminal lunatic asylum.
Last year author Winchester, who lives in Massachusetts, praised Gibson’s Scots accent in the film which was panned for his role as William Wallace in 1995.
He added: “It’s so long since I saw Braveheart. I think it was the action and not the accent that gripped me in that film.
“But I think Scots will approve of Gibson’s Scottish dialect.”
Gibson worked on adapting the book for more than 20 years before production began to develop in 2016. Other stars who signed up for the movie included Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer , comedian Steve Coogan, Laurence Fox and Jennifer Ehle.
Gibson had originally intended to direct gthe film, but hired his Apocalypto co-screenwriter Farhad Safinia to replace him, while he remained in the role of Murray.
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