Imagine Entertainment Sues Myers Over ‘Sprockets’

“Austin Powers” star Mike Myers was sued Thursday by Imagine Entertainment for refusing to star in the production company’s movie “Sprockets.”

The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks damages in excess of $30 million and follows a similar suit filed last month against the comic by Universal Pictures, the studio financing “Sprockets.”

According to the plaintiffs, Myers abruptly announced in a May meeting with Universal top executives Ron Meyer and Stacey Snider and Imagine chief Brian Grazer that the script wasn’t working and that he no longer wanted to do the movie.

“Sprockets” was to begin shooting in early August. It was slated to be Myers’ first project since last summer’s blockbuster hit “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and Universal Pictures’ big summer comedy for 2001.

Myers’ discontent came as a shock because he was the driving force behind “Sprockets,” for which he was to earn $20 million. He was the film’s co-writer and producer. He handpicked the director as well as other key members of the creative team.

The movie was based on Dieter, a German pop existentialist who hosts a talk show called “Sprockets.” Myers had played the popular character on “Saturday Night Live.”

In a statement issued the day Universal’s suit was filed, Myers disputed that he had walked away from the film. He said he could not “in good conscience accept $20 million and cheat moviegoers who pay their hard-earned money for my work by making a movie with an unacceptable script.”