Update
Valkyrie Extras Cruise Into Legal Action?
Phil Bray/MGM
Another day, another bout of negative publicity for Tom Cruise's beseiged Valkyrie.
A dozen extras who worked on the WWII-era film last summer are seeking $11 million from Cruise and his production company, United Artists, over injuries allegedly sustained while filming what should have been a less-than-action-packed sequence in Berlin.
The 12 actors reportedly suffered several broken bones, cuts and bruises during the Aug. 19, 2007, incident, when the side panel of their German Army truck burst open as the vehicle turned a corner.
Cruise was not on set at the time.
As a result of the on-set mishap, 11 extras were taken to a nearby hospital, for injuries that included broken ribs and pulled ligaments, and discharged, while the 12th was kept in the hospital for four days on suspicion of more serious internal injuries.
The actors' attorney, Ariane Bluttner, told Germany's Spiegel Online that UA was negligent and that the vehicles were not up to snuff.
"The studio knew the trucks were not safe. There had even been an internal memo about the railings."
"A new letter has been sent to Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner and United Artists, in which we set out the facts of the case again and put a figure on the legal demands of our clients...of $11 million," she told Reuters.
Cruise and Wagner had been running United Artists together under the supervision of MGM. Wagner announced her departure from the company earlier this month.
MGM and UA declined to comment on the matter.
Bluttner said that if her clients' monetary demands are not met, she will submit their claim to a U.S. court, where punitive damages are often more exorbitant.
As for Valkyrie, after numerous production fiascos and several schedule changes, the film is now slated for release Dec. 26.
[Editor's note: An earlier version of this story included a statement from United Artists; the studio has since retracted the statement and declined further comment.]
(Originally published Aug. 26, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. PT)
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