A veteran movie producer who helped shepherd a few of The Jim Henson Firm’s most profitable fashionable films and TV sequence has sued the corporate, alleging it did not honor a settlement settlement guaranteeing him compensation and display credit on a number of high-profile tasks.
Jason Lust, a former senior govt on the residence of the Muppets, filed the lawsuit final week in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket, asserting breach of contract. The grievance, obtained by TheWrap, seeks at the very least $7.5 million in damages, plus curiosity, lawyer’s charges and punitive damages.
Lust alleges the corporate did not compensate him or present agreed-upon credit linked to the sequel “Alexander and the Horrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Dangerous Day,” Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning “Pinocchio,” and the Apple TV sequence “Fraggle Rock: Again to the Rock.”
In line with the grievance, Lust ran The Jim Henson Firm’s function movie division for almost eight years and performed a central function in growing “Alexander,” which turned the corporate’s first $100 million theatrical franchise, in addition to “Pinocchio,” which received the Academy Award for finest animated function.
After leaving the corporate, Lust entered right into a confidential settlement settlement in 2015 resolving an employment dispute. That settlement, the lawsuit alleges, assured Lust producing bonuses and compensation, accounting statements and govt producer credit if the corporate continued producing sequels or associated tasks.
The lawsuit claims that when “Alexander and the Horrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Dangerous Street Journey” was launched in March 2025, The Jim Henson Firm returned as a producer however didn’t pay Lust his contractual share or present an govt producer credit score.
Lust additional alleges that whereas he acquired an govt producer credit score on “Pinocchio,” the credit score was “non-industry customary” and buried deep ultimately titles, diminishing its worth and depriving him of recognition tied to the movie’s awards success.
The grievance additionally accuses the corporate of sidestepping its obligations on “Fraggle Rock” by shifting the mission from a function movie to a tv sequence, leading to Lust receiving no compensation or producer credit score when “Fraggle Rock: Again to the Rock” premiered on Apple TV in 2022.
Lust claims the corporate’s actions had been deliberate and meant to disclaim him monetary participation {and professional} recognition promised underneath the settlement settlement.
The Jim Henson Firm didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Tuesday.
