“SCREAM” PRODUCER SUES WEINSTEINS FOR DROPPING HER

Cathy Konrad, who produced the first three Scream movies is suing The Weinstein Co. because she was cut out of the upcoming fourth. In her lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Konrad said that her contract with the Weinsteins requires them to give her “first opportunity” to produce any sequel on the same terms as Scream 3. She claims that the Weinsteins based her ouster on a contractual clause requiring exclusivity. (She is listed as a producer of the upcoming Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz action comedy Knight and Day.) She says that no such exclusivity was required for Scream 3. Her suit charges that the Weinsteins’ claim merely represents a scheme to force her and her production company off the film in order to reduce production costs. But entertainment attorney Bert Fields, who represents the Weinsteins, told the Hollywood Reporter: “Let me say it very plainly. Ms Konrad’s lawsuit is just plain baloney. … The contract says she’s supposed to be exclusive.”