Paramount Didn't Make Mario Puzo's Family an Offer They Couldn't Refuse

Posted by Eriq Gardner

  The estate of "Godfather" author Puzo and the studio behind the three movies are going to war again — this time over royalties owed from a "Godfather" video game.

The Puzo estate, repped by THR, Esq.'s BFF Bert Fields, has filed a lawsuit on their behalf in Los Angeles Superior Court. Here's the complaint.

The two sides have stared each other down before. In 1992, a fee disagreement led to a new financial arrangement between the parties. According to the new complaint, the parties entered "into an agreement pursuant to which Puzo was to receive a significant share in the revenue of audio-visual products to be sold or rented to the public embodying elements of the 'Godfather' pictures."

In 2006, Paramount licensed the rights to a video game to video game publisher Electronic Arts. According to some estimates, the game has grossed revenues of $41 million.

Puzo died in 1999, leaving everything to his children. The estate says they haven't been paid properly by Paramount.