Producers of "The Blind Side" are not turning a blind eye to the recent dispute surrounding the film.
Earlier this month, retired NFL player Michael Oher—whose life inspired the 2009 movie—filed a legal petition against the Tuohy family, saying they became his conservators in 2004, which allowed them to have ultimate control over his contracts, and financially profited off his life story.
Memphis couple Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy allegedly negotiated for themselves and their "natural born" children Sean Jr. and Collins for "a contract price of $225,000 plus 2.5% of all future 'Defined Net Proceeds'" from "The Blind Side," which had gross revenues of upwards of $330 million, according to Oher's Aug. 14 petition obtained by E! News. He said the Tuohys also received a $200,000 donation to their Making It Happen Foundation.
Now, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson — the co-founders and co-CEOs of Alcon Entertainment, which financed the film — have set the record straight on just how much the Tuohy family was paid, per a statement obtained by E! News Aug. 24.
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The pair, who were also producers of the movie, said the contracts "did not include significant payouts in the event of the film's success" and therefore, "the notion that the Tuohys were paid millions of dollars by Alcon to the detriment of Michael Oher is false."
Their company paid about $767,000 to the talent agency representing the Tuohys and Oher, per the statement, which noted there was likely an agency commission removed before the sum was distributed to the five of them. (Sean has said the family and Oher got about $14,000 each after "The Blind Side" book author Michael Lewis "gave us half of his share.")
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Kosove and Johnson also said that the athlete and the family will probably receive future payments as well.
"We anticipate that the Tuohy family and Michael Oher will receive additional profits as audiences continue to enjoy this true story in the years to come," they continued. "In addition to these contractual payments, Alcon made a charitable contribution to the Tuohy family foundation. We offered to donate an equal amount to a charity of Mr. Oher's choosing, which he declined."
In addition, Kosove and Johnson's statement defended the movie itself after they said Oher's lawsuit gave critics "a justification to unfairly pick apart the movie fourteen years later—some going so far as to call it 'fake' or a 'lie.'"
"We are as proud of the film today as we were when our amazing collaborators made the movie 14 years ago," they stated. "We hope our fellow filmmakers all over the world will continue to look for uplifting stories to tell, and have the freedom and empowerment to have their voices heard."
Oher, now 37 and married with four kids, alleged in his legal petition that the Tuohys led him to believe that the conservatorship was equivalent to an adoption and only learned earlier this year that it gave him no familial ties to the football family. He stated that "at no point" did the Tuohys tell him they would have "ultimate control" over his contracts.
The petition states that a contracted signed in April 2007 granted the studio "the perpetual, unconditional and exclusive right throughout the world" to use and portray Oher's name, likeness, voice, appearance and more characteristics "without any payment whatsoever." However, Oher said in his filing he never "willing or knowingly" signed the document and "nobody ever presented this contract to him with any explanation" that he was signing a document about the rights to his name, image and life story.
One of the Tuohy's lawyers, Steve Farese, has said in part, "The Tuohys never controlled any of Mr. Oher's contracts," per USA Today.
Since the legal ordeal, the Tuohys have shared their intentions to end Oher's conservatorship after nearly 20 years.
E! News reached out to the Tuohys and Oher for comment on Kosove and Johnson's statement but hasn't heard back.
