MOVIES - April 20, 1988

The creators of the film “WarGames” have filed a $75-million-plus lawsuit against MGM/UA for packaging the film for sale to syndicated television with 24 lesser box-office successes, such as “Clash of the Titans,” “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” and “Fame.” The plaintiffs include the film’s producer Leonard Goldberg--now production chief at 20th Century Fox, director John Badham and writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parks. Goldberg and the others claim in the suit that they were shortchanged $5 million by the package deal and want the studio’s distribution rights to the film terminated, plus $50 million in punitive damages. Daily Variety reports that “WarGames” is believed to have been part of a package that aired as MGM/UA Premiere Network, formed in 1984.

SI DEBORAH CAULFIELD