“Scary” actress Catherine Corcoran is suing producer and series director Damien Leone, accusing him of breach of contract and distributing sexually explicit material without consent.
In a lawsuit filed Sunday in federal court in California, Cochran's attorneys laid out a case defined by “common stories of low-budget filmmakers exploiting young actresses through fraud, sexual harassment, and ultimately betrayal.” The lawsuit names production companies Dark Age Cinema and Fuzz on the Lens Productions as defendants, along with producers Phil Falcone and Leone and the film's producer's company, Art the Clown. The filing includes seven claims for relief, including distribution of sexually explicit material, breach of contract and promise fraud.
Leone and producers could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cochrane is best known to Terror viewers for one of the original 2016 horror film's most memorably insane sequences, in which the actress' character hangs topless and upside down and is massacred by villain Art the Clown. Filming the scene required Corcoran to hang upside down by his ankles “for more than ten hours in subfreezing temperatures,” the lawsuit states.
Corcoran is said to have agreed to star in the low-budget film Terrorist for a “very low per diem” and agreed that she would receive 1% of the profits from the film, as well as potential future franchise rights and related merchandise, including other licenses to the intellectual property. Two “Scary Movie” sequels have been produced, grossing more than $105 million at the global box office combined, plus models such as home video profits and “Scary Movie” themed fan events. The lawsuit alleges that director and producer Leone “agreed in writing to provide Cochrane a 1% share of all net sales of 'The Terror'-related merchandise.”
However, Cochran claims that in the years following the release of the original film and its subsequent rise in popularity, her royalty payments “became increasingly sporadic and were reduced to far disproportionate amounts.” The actress claimed that she has not received back pay since July 2024 and has received only $1,816.35 to date, “with no explanation why royalty payments have stopped or where the remaining money is.” Merchandise royalties are said to total “approximately $6,408.26.”
Corcoran claims to have confronted Falcone and Leone about her royalties and that she “was rebuffed, Leone handled all accounting matters, and then Falcone responded in an aggressive and defensive manner by saying he allegedly 'doesn't keep records.'”
Additionally, while Cochran's death scene required her to be nude, the lawsuit alleges the producers “never obtained Cochran's informed written consent” to film the scene naked, as required by the Screen Actors Guild. The lawsuit alleges that Cochran insisted that she wear underwear on the day of the shoot, but she ended up performing the scene topless without written consent. It also claims that it was only at Corcoran's request that she was provided a level platform to rest between takes and that she “was wrapped in a blanket between takes, but over time the blanket became smeared with fake blood and no longer provided any warmth.”
After filming all night, Cochran claimed she felt ill over the next few days and doctors diagnosed her with skull swelling and eardrum damage. The lawsuit ties together unpaid royalties and unregulated filming conditions, accusing the defendants of profiting from merchandise depicting Corcoran's nude body.