The producer behind the World War II spy thriller "Fortitude" has amended his lawsuit against Netflix to add a defamation claim, escalating a dispute over a stolen hard drive containing the film. Simon Afram, the film's producer, writer and financier, alleges Netflix mischaracterised his legal team's conduct as an attempted extortion after the streamer lost an unencrypted digital cinema package of the film that had been delivered for a possible purchase.

The original suit, filed last week, claimed Netflix breached an implied contract after a digital cinema package delivered for screening around 16 June was later reported stolen, with the company allegedly refusing to share further details. Netflix had responded by accusing Afram's lawyers of "hostile attempts to extort money" by demanding $165 million; Afram's team counters that their first letter, sent on 29 June, only requested information and a meeting, and that the $165 million demand followed Netflix's refusal to cooperate on 30 June. Netflix maintains it does not bear the risk of loss for a film delivered without industry-standard safeguards. "Fortitude", directed by Simon West, stars Nicolas Cage, Matthew Goode, Ben Kingsley, Ron Perlman and Michael Sheen.