Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Monday, March 18, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Vet Says TV Crew Trashed His Home During Netflix Shoot

A 92-year-old Long Island veteran filed a federal lawsuit claiming a production crew trashed his house while filming a new Netflix series starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CN) - A 92-year-old Long Island veteran filed a federal lawsuit claiming a production crew trashed his house while filming a new Netflix series starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.

According to the complaint filed Thursday in the Eastern District of New York, Sidney Price flew 44 missions as a tail gunner on a B-24 during World War II and then became an attorney and certified public accountant.

In September 2017, he says he entered into a $15,500 contract with defendant Paramount for the company “to enter and use only the first floor” of his home for 10 days as it filmed the upcoming Netflix show “Maniac,” a dark comedy starring Stone and Hill.

But the crew left wreckage in its wake, according to the complaint penned by attorney Rachel Schulman, and Price is now missing some of his personal belongings, including family photos -- wedding pictures, shots of his late wife Lillian and his grandchildren, and photos of relatives who were Holocaust survivors.

Before filming began, Price claims he met with the producer, who assured him access would be limited to the first floor.

But on the first day of filming, Price says he saw workers packing his belongings into boxes and loading them onto a truck. When Price protested, one of the workers allegedly said to him, “We’re Netflix. We can do what we want.”

Price’s son Richard runs a memorabilia business out of his father’s home, according to the complaint, and is also listed as a plaintiff.

They claim large boxes full of merchandise were “recklessly” thrown aside, causing damage to the signed posters, balls and guitars inside. Multiple posters signed by “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” star Harrison Ford, each worth $1,500, were also allegedly damaged.

Twenty to 30 boxes are now missing, the complaint states. Price is also missing a chair, valuable china, a piece of art and his 60-year-old front bushes, which Paramount removed despite his protests, he says, and replaced with 3-foot ones.

At one point, Price’s had a standoff with an “unlicensed contractor” who was trying to remove the windows, the lawsuit says, and the younger Price blocked a window with his body to keep that from happening.

“He remained there for hours, as different persons strongly tried to convince him to let Paramount remove the windows,” the complaint states.

That night, Richard Price had a mild heart attack, though he had no history of heart problems, according to the lawsuit.

The Prices assert claims for breach of contract, trespass, conversion, infliction of emotional distress and negligence. They seek an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

Paramount and Netflix, who is not a party to the lawsuit, did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.

News also broke Thursday that Amy Powell, president of Paramount Television, had been suddenly fired over alleged racist comments, which she denies making.

Categories / Entertainment, Regional

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...