Amazing Grace, which arrived in theatres in 2019, some 47 years after the Aretha Franklin concert film was shot in a South L.A. church, is now a subject of another lawsuit, Variety reports.
According to the outlet, the film’s path to the screen was strewn with litigation — including an aborted premiere at the Telluride Film Festival that was halted by an injunction.
The film won raves from critics and was one of the year’s top grossing documentaries. But three years after its release, the litigation goes on.
On Wednesday, producer Alan Elliott filed suit in New York, accusing indie distributor Neon of botching the film’s release and awards campaign.
Elliott alleges that Neon prematurely announced it had acquired the film, scaring off potential rivals, and then failed to live up to its obligations once the deal was done. The suit alleges that Neon failed to properly market the film, particularly in African American communities.
