Mad Max: Fury Road Director George Miller Sues Warner Bros.

George Miller is not happy with Warner Bros. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Mad Max: Fury Road director is suing the studio over a dispute about the movie's profits, with he and his production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell alleging they are owed an additional $7 million.

In the suit, Miller says that Kennedy Miller Mitchell was set to receive a $7 million bonus if the "final net cost" of the film was under $157 million, excluding some specified costs. The deal also reportedly said that, should the movie need additional financing, Warner Bros. would approach Kennedy Miller Mitchell first before seeking another company.

Miller's company is arguing that decisions made by Warner Bros. "caused substantial changes and delays" to the film, which led to additional expenses that pushed them over budget. "If those costs are left out of account, [Kennedy Miller Mitchell] says that Mad Max came in under budget," writes Justice David Hammerschlag.

The company also alleges that Warner Bros. entered into a co-financing agreement with James Packer and Brett Ratner's RatPac Entertainment, violating their agreement to give Kennedy Miller Mitchell the first chance to finance the film. RatPac Entertainment reportedly provided 12.5 percent of the movie's funding.

Kennedy Miller Mitchell is hitting Warner Bros. for "misleading and deceptive conduct" for reportedly not saying that the additional costs would be included in the budget calculations. Miller and his business partner, Doug Mitchell, said they were upset that "after all the hard work and success of the film, the studio failed to honor its obligations."

"Simply put, we are owed substantial earnings for diligent and painstaking work which spanned over 10 years in development of the script and preparation and three years in production of the movie," the pair said in a statement. "That hard work resulted in a picture which found wide acclaim globally."

"We would much prefer to be making movies with Warner Bros. than litigating with them but, after trying for over a year, we were unable to reach a satisfactory resolution and have now had to resort to a law suit to sort things out," they continued. Warner Bros. offered a brief statement in rebuttal, saying, "We disagree and will vigorously defend against these claims."

Mad Max: Fury Road, starring Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, and Nicholas Hoult, won six Academy Awards at the 2015 ceremony, and it backed up its critical acclaim with a huge box office haul. The movie made $378.9 million worldwide, including $154 million domestic, immediately igniting talk of a sequel. (via Box Office Mojo) Hopefully, things between Miller and Warner Bros. will get sorted out soon and he can get to work on the next movie in the series.