Producer, director of 'Until it Hurts' respond to lawsuit
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A retired Navy SEAL and his wife have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop distribution of the movie Until it Hurts.
The movie premiered in Norfolk, Va., in late February and is based off of an art project created to honor Naval Special Warfare personnel who have died since Sept. 11, 2001.
In 2012, Dave Hall — a retired SEAL sniper — shot a target for each of the 79 SEALS who had died. Hall then gave the targets to an artist who used them in a piece of artwork entitled "Until it Hurts."
Hall then donated the artwork to a Chesapeake-based non-profit called Wounded Wear to be auctioned off at a benefit event. According to the lawsuit, Hall planned to repurchase the artwork, but the bidding got too high and he was unable to buy it back.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Hall and his wife, Tracey, accuses Wounded Wear and its founders of scheming to purchase the artwork for the purposes of making a movie.
Wounded Wear was founded by Jason Redman and his wife, Erica. Redman is a former Navy lieutenant who was wounded by enemy fire in Iraq in 2007.
The lawsuit was filed in Virginia Beach Circuit court late last week. It claims Redman colluded with local salon owner Todd Grubbs and his wife for the couple to make the winning auction bid of $17,500 for the "Until it Hurts" artwork. The lawsuit says Grubbs did not pay for the artwork on the night of the auction, which was required of all other auction winners that night.
Several months after the auction, Hall's lawsuit says, Redman and Grubbs approached him about making a documentary about the creation of "Until it Hurts." According to the lawsuit, Hall's involvement in the documentary was based on several conditions, including approval of the film content and final cut, adhering to the wishes of the family members of fallen Navy SEALS and transparent accounting and distribution of any proceeds from the film to assist the families of those who had died, known as Gold Star families.
The lawsuit claims neither Hall nor his wife ever signed a release authorizing the filmmakers to use their names or images in the film.
The company that made the movie, Digital Thunderdome, LLC, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Both Grubbs and Scott Hansen, owner of Digital Thunderdome, said on Tuesday they were surprised by the lawsuit. Neither men had received copies of the complaint yet and said they were only generally aware of the accusations made in the suit.
"The lawsuit is very shocking, overall. I hope the film gets out there," Hansen said. "To work so long with Dave and all of those guys, we never had any issues with anybody."
Hansen said Hall was a technical adviser on the movie and even spoke at a private showing of the film for families several weeks before the public premier.
According to the lawsuit, the Halls and several Gold Star families have voiced concerns about the movie and have asked that their names or images not be used in the film.
"The Defendants willfully and blatantly ignored the notices of the Halls, creating significant publicity for the film using Plaintiff Hall's image and name and engaged in a public showing of the film in Norfolk, Virginia on February 21, 2015, three weeks after the notice provided to the Defendants," the lawsuit says.
Since the documentary's release in late February, the lawsuit claims Hall's image has been used to promote the film. The lawsuit also claims Redman and Grubbs have executed agreements to distribute the documentary overseas.
Grubbs spoke to WVEC-TV for the first time since allegations about the movie surfaced.
"My wife and I have remained silent to this point, but because of this lawsuit, I'm willing to fight for what's the truth," Grubbs said.
According to Grubbs, the lawsuit stemmed from a disagreement that sparked when Hall asked to have a mini-bar at the movie's premier.
"Now we've gone from a mini-bar to distribution," Grubbs said, referring to questions raised in the lawsuit about deals negotiated by Grubbs and Redman to distribute the movie nationwide and internationally.
"Mr. Hall sat in every distribution deal meeting," Grubbs said. "He went to California. He met with the distribution companies."
The lawsuit also questions how much money from the movie is going to benefit Gold Star families.
"The Defendants have collected funds all without transparency, accounting or a written commitment to use proceeds from the film to benefit the Gold Star families," the lawsuit states.
Earlier on Tuesday, Grubbs took steps he said was aimed at settling questions about where money from the movie will go. Grubbs signed the rights to the movie over to Jake Healy for $1.19. Healy is the son of Navy SEAL Daniel Healy who died when his helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan in 2005. Healy is featured in the documentary and has spent the past two months living in Hampton Roads to promote the film.
On Tuesday, Healy said he intends to distribute all proceeds from the movie to charities benefiting Gold Star families.
"I have full intentions to do good things with the film and I would just ask that he believes in me," Healy said of Hall.
Healy said the proceeds from the film's premier at Nauticus in Norfolk were given to Wounded Wear. He could not provide specifics on how that money was used or whether or not it was spent in support of Gold Star families.
Grubbs said there is not a solid plan in place to ensure proceeds from Until it Hurts make it to those it is intended to help. He said he envisions Gold Star families applying for grants as needed. He also said that, so far, the movie has not generated any profit.
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and asks a judge to stop the advertising and distribution of Until it Hurts.
Healy said he hopes Hall drops the lawsuit so the film can be distributed.
"It's just really sad that if he proceeds that he would be holding back something that could benefit our community," Healy said.
When reached on Tuesday morning, Erica Redman said neither she, her husband, nor her attorney had been served with a copy of the Halls' lawsuit yet and could not comment.