Son of The Godfather Creator Sues Over Royalties

The son of The Godfather creator Mario Puzo sued Paramount Pictures on Wednesday, claiming the studio failed to pay royalties from a 2006 video game based on the book and movie characters.

Anthony Puzo of New York claims in a court filing that he represents his father's estate and is seeking more than $1 million in damages for breach of contract.

The suit seeks damages for a game created by Electronic Arts, which was not named in the lawsuit that prominently features elements of the film.

A Paramount spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Mario Puzo died in 1999. Seven years earlier he entered into an agreement with Paramount to receive a "significant share" of the revenues from any audio or visual products that included elements of The Godfather films, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The agreement was made, the suit claims, because Puzo was a "young, relatively unknown author, struggling to support his family" when Paramount approached him about licensing the The Godfather and bought the rights for "an extremely low price."