Nicholas Loeb, Sofia Vergara's ex, claims director conned him over failed Mona Lisa flick
Nicholas Loeb, an actor and entrepreneur, was hoping to snag Robert Schwentke to helm a flick called the 'Art of the Con,' which he described in a lawsuit against the director as 'a historically inspired heist film dramatizing the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in the early 20th century.'
Schwentke, 57, who directed the 2017 film 'The Captain,' allegedly agreed to take the project on in 2022 but only if his preferred writer, Matthew Wilder, took a crack at the screenplay, Loeb claimed in a Manhattan Supreme Court filing.
Loeb has fought with ex-Sofia Vergara for years in court over their embryos.
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Loeb shelled out $25,000 to Wilder to rewrite the script, based on Schwentke's promise, then another $12,500 in January 2023 after the director demanded a second rewrite.
Even though he didn't want to hire the screenwriter, Loeb 'agreed to retain Wilder solely for the purpose of securing Schwentke as director,' according to the litigation.
Schwentke even voiced enthusiasm for the project, Loeb alleged.
He imagined that 'directing a Lubitsch-style elegant heist-comedy … would be one of the great joys of [his] career,' he told Loeb, according to the lawsuit.
The director allegedly stopped responding for months, then 'resurfaced' in August 2023?]] demanding a third rewrite 'again to be performed by Wilder and again for a $25,000 fee,' Loeb claimed.
Director Robert Schwentke allegedly claimed he would sign on to help Loeb's project, then backed out.
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Schwentke then ditched the project in March, leaving Loeb on the hook for more than $37,000 in expenses, he claimed.
'Mr. Loeb believes he was swindled by Schwentke in collusion with his friend, costing him millions,' said attorney Andrew B. Smith, who reps Loeb.
Loeb is seeking unspecified damages 'in an amount sufficient to punish' the pair for their 'willful, malicious, and fraudulent conduct.'
The Westchester-based Loeb spent nearly a decade in a high-profile legal battle with Vergara over the fate of their remaining embryos created by in vitro fertilization, after their bid to have children failed.
Vergara won in court, preventing Loeb from bringing their embryos to term using a surrogate.
Wilder and Schwentke did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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