TIFF pulls London Fields after director files lawsuit against producers

Another movie is being pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival: thecrime thriller London Fieldsis being dropped due to "a legal matter that has arisen between the director and the producers," organizers said Thursday.

The film was set to have its world premiere on Friday. That screening, as well as others on Saturday and Sunday, hasbeen cancelled.

"We have recently learned of a legal matter that has arisen between the director and the producers of the filmLondon Fields.We have worked to make our festival a public showcase for creative expression through the moving image, however with uncertainty surrounding the creative vision of the version of the film scheduled to be screened on September 18, we feel it is only appropriate that we remove this film from the festival lineup," TIFF said in a statement.

"We are hopeful that this matter will be resolved positively, and that audiences will have the opportunity to see the film."

Film stars Amber Heard,JimSturgess,Billy Bob Thornton

Based on the Martin Amis novel of the same name, the noir feature stars Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess and Cara Delevingne. Johnny Depp, Heard's husband, appears in a cameo.

A screening for press and industry took place in Toronto Tuesday, the same dayLondon Fields director Mathew Cullen filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles against Muse Productions Inc. An email sent to representative for Muse Productions was not immediately returned.

Cullen alleges the movie was altered with offensive imagery about Islam and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks inserted after he finished the project, scenes that were not originally in the script.

Lionsgate purchased U.S. distribution rights to the film on Wednesday.

Along with the allegations about content, the lawsuit says producers failed to properly finance the film and haven't properly paid Cullen for his work and expenses, which total more than $1 million US.Cullen is asking a judge to rule the producers do not have the right to attach his name to the film without his consent.

Cullen is a commercial and music video director who has worked with Katy Perry, The Black Eyed Peas and Weezer, according to the lawsuit.London Fieldswas intended to be his directorial debut for a feature film.

"In creating their own version of the film, defendants have interjected scenes and footage that are highly offensive and neither appear in the script nor are a part of the film that Cullen was asked to direct," the lawsuit states.

• Aretha Franklin doc Amazing Grace pulled from Toronto film fest

A statement released by publicist Maxine Leonard on behalf of the producers rejected the allegations.

"Sadly, Mathew can't deal with the fact that he does not control the final cut of the movie," said Leonard. "He was given two deadlines to deliver a 'director's cut' and missed both deadlines. His guild has rules for withdrawing his name from the picture, and he missed those deadlines."

The Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Gracewas withdrawn just days before the festival started due to its own legal dispute.