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Nick Vallelonga
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
The producers of That’s Amore ran out of money and skipped town without paying $570,000 in wages to dozens of workers while continuing to incur costly expenses to promote the movie, according to a complaint filed against the production.
In a lawsuit, filed in New York federal court on Dec. 8, IATSE says that it reached a settlement in August to resolve the grievance but that the production continues to refuse to pay 77 members for nearly a month of work. It’s threatening to blacklist writer-director Nick Vallelonga, who’s also a producer on the film, until workers are paid.
That’s Amore, a romantic comedy starring John Travolta, Katherine Heigl and Christopher Walken, commenced production in September 2022 with a budget of $34 million. According to the complaint, the project ran out of money in October, forcing IATSE to file for arbitration for unpaid wages for that month, as well as November. A settlement required the production to settle its tab, which it allegedly failed to do in full.
“To date, That’s Amore has not paid the gross wages, incidental expenses and benefit payments owed for work performed by seventy-seven (77) Union Workers for weeks ending October 29, 2022, November 5, 2022 and November 12, 2022,” writes Hope Pordy, a lawyer representing IATSE, in the suit.
Workers who weren’t paid include the cinematographer, camera operator, editor, costume designer, wardrobe supervisor, hair and make-up stylists and grips, among others. The production also failed to pay benefit contribution on top of the unpaid wages, IATSE says.
The suit, which doesn’t name Vallelonga, stresses that producers continue to engage in “expensive marketing strategies” and incur expenses such as “the recording of a soundtrack with full orchestra despite the non-payment of contractually owed wages and benefits.”
IATSE notes that it can invoke its “international constitution” to declare a company or individual “unfair,” which bars members from rendering services until financial obligations are met. In 2019, the union invoked the measure against Weasel Work Productions. No such declaration has yet been made against the production entity for That’s Amore or Vallelonga, who won an Oscar for writing and producing Green Book.
In a statement, IATSE International president Matthew D. Loeb said, “This lawsuit underscores our commitment to vigorously protecting our members and ensuring that their rights are not trampled upon. In this country, when you work, you get paid. Anything less is theft. We will not stand idly by while companies like That’s Amore Movie, LLC attempt to undermine the fair and hard-won terms of our collective agreements. We will relentlessly pursue all avenues to ensure justice is served.”
Vallelonga didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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