A defamation claim has been added to the legal case of a stolen Nicolas Cage film against Netflix, TheWrap has learned.
A lawsuit filed in federal court on July 29 alleged that the streamer allowed an unencrypted copy of the Cage-led World War II thriller, titled “Fortitude,” to go missing from its offices earlier in 2026. The suit, which seeks $105 million in damages, was filed by producer Simon Afram and his company, Op-Fortitude.
The defamation claim came into play Tuesday over a statement Netflix made to media after the lawsuit went public.
“We have declined to share anything about our ongoing investigation with the law firm representing Simon Afram, given their hostile attempts to extort money from Netflix over this situation – including immediately demanding $165 million for the film rather than work with us in good faith,” Netflix said in the statement. The streamer “disputes any claim that it bears the risk of loss for a film delivered without the proper industry-standard safeguards.”
Afram and his team took issue with the streamer’s allegation of extortion and the idea that they “immediately” demanded a $165 million payout.
“In fact, Mr. Afram and his counsel made no immediate demand for payment for the lost Film,” the amended lawsuit reads. “Instead, after being informed by Netflix of the theft on June 25, 2026, the first letter from Plaintiffs’ counsel to Netflix on June 29, 2026, merely asked for information and a meeting with Netflix. It did not demand any specified amount of money. Netflix responded on June 30, 2026, refusing to cooperate with Plaintiffs’ requests for information about the theft and a meeting with Netflix. Hence, Netflix’s refusal to share information with Plaintiffs about its investigation was not even remotely or arguably in reaction to any alleged attempt to ‘extort money.’”
Afram’s team went on to claim that Netflix refused to assist by sharing information on the theft on June 30. It was after this, on July 1, that the ask of “$165 million in compensation for the loss of the Film and its exclusive and first-to market status” entered the picture.
“Rather than addressing the consequences of its own negligence or recklessness,” the amended lawsuit reads, “Netflix responded to Mr. Afram’s reasonable requests for information and remediation by accusing him of a serious crime.”
According to the lawsuit, Afram, who put more than $45 million and seven years into the project, alleged that the disappearance from Netflix could jeopardize the film’s ability to be sold and distributed elsewhere.
