Mel Gibson was in the news last week for his divorce with his wife, and now he's topping headlines once again.
Benedict Fitzgerald, who co-wrote "Passion of the Christ," is claiming Gibson owes him money, TMZ reported Wednesday.
The writer has asked a Los Angeles judge to order a thorough account of the movie's finances. Fitzgerald filed legal action against Gibson and film execs last year, claiming he cheated him out of millions in potential earnings.
He claims that he was told the film's production budget was between $4 million and $7 million. That showed they couldn't afford to pay Fitzgerald more money.
"But during the case, Mel and his peeps produced accounting records, and the true budget was millions more. In fact, Mel's own calculations put the budget at around $30 million," TMZ reported.
This showed that Fitzgerald was supposed to get paid a lot more.
Fitzgerald claims he was only paid $75,000 and had to borrow $200,000 from Gibson to cover expenses.
"The Passion of the Christ" grossed an estimated $600 million worldwide. Fitzgerald is asking for a fair writer's fee based on the true cost of the movie.
