Robert De Niro and Al Pacino Teamed Up in a Lawsuit

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Righteous Kill

Big actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are not only teamed up when they’re in a movie together, but the pair is now teaming up in a lawsuit against a movie distributor and a watch company tied to Righteous Kill, a movie that both actors did together last year.

On Wednesday, the actors filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, stated that a series of advertisements falsely suggested the two actors endorsed Tutima watches.

Both said that they never authorized a commercial tie-in between Tutima watches and the Righteous Kill film. As plaintiffs, De Niro and Pacino sought unspecified damages from Overture Films, based in Los Angeles, California, and Tutima Inc, a German watchmaker.

Their complaint stated in details that Tutima, with the blessing of co-defendant Overture Films, used pictures of their characters in Righteous Kill in a tie-in print advertisement and a clip from the thriller on its website. All that, will allegedly led potential buyers to think De Niro and Pacino were endorsing the brand. While actually, both actors had signed talent agreements in 2007 that prohibited using the actors for merchandising or product placements without prior written consent.

Overture Films as one of the defendants expressed their surprise that De Niro and Pacino were dredging the issue up now, nearly six months after the film’s theatrical release. The company said in a statement, “We are surprised by this action as Overture Films has not received any communication on this matter for months from Pacino, De Niro or their representatives. We take lawsuits very seriously and our legal team is addressing the issue.” Still no comments from Tutima’s camp.

Pacino and De Niro played two veteran cops on the trail of a serial killer in a movie that was released in September 2008. The movie did not have a big success, although with big actors like them in it. It was panned by critics, and managed to made more than $78 million worldwide, according to research company Box Office Mojo.

Good luck with the lawsuit, fellas!

[ via Yahoo! News ]

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