‘Summer When We Were Kings’ Production Crew Allege They’re Owed Unpaid Wages [UPDATE]

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The 21-page proposed collective action claims the defendants—production company Summer WWK LLC, executive producer HL Woods and line producer Cherelle George—failed to pay production crew and similarly situated workers proper wages from August to October 2020 before production on the movie was shut down prior to the start of principal photography. 

“Extensive efforts were made to recover the wages due to Plaintiffs and similarly situated film production crew members without litigation, but those efforts were rebuffed by Defendants,” the lawsuit, filed in Georgia federal court, alleges.

Summer When We Were Kings is a feature-length film about a baseball team’s journey to win a state championship 50 years ago, the complaint begins. Per the suit, Woods, the film’s principal financier, exercised operational control over the plaintiffs and other production crew members and the overall production of the movie, including payroll decisions. George, as line producer, the case says, was responsible for on-site management of the production crew and possessed the power to hire and direct the work of the plaintiffs.

Around August 2020, the defendants began to scout locations in Atlanta to film the movie, and hired the next month other crew members to prepare to shoot for October, the lawsuit says." customdata="Around August 2020, the defendants began to scout locations in Atlanta to film the movie, and hired the next month other “below-the-line” crew members to prepare to shoot for October, the lawsuit says." title="webextlink://Around August 2020, the defendants began to scout locations in Atlanta to film the movie, and hired the next month other “below-the-line” crew members to prepare to shoot for October, the lawsuit says.">Around August 2020, the defendants began to scout locations in Atlanta to film the movie, and hired the next month other “below-the-line” crew members to prepare to shoot for October, the lawsuit says. Between August and October 2020, the defendants hired roughly 22 people to work on Summer When We Were Kings, according to the case, which adds that “most, if not all,” of those hired were out of work since around March due to the coronavirus pandemic, making the film their first job since then. 

The complaint says, however, that the production of Summer When We Were Kings “lacked sufficient funding” to pay those working on the film, and the plaintiffs charge they never received any compensation for their work. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs were “repeatedly assured” by the defendants that payment for their work was forthcoming, so they continued to work for no pay.

In October, production on the movie was shuttered before filming began, the suit says. As a result, the plaintiffs and similarly situated crew members were laid off, per the case. On or around September 25, George, the suit claims, sent an email stating that the project would be dropped until funds were available to pay crew members, who were instructed to submit all timecards, start work and receipts so they could be paid on September 29.

As the lawsuit tells it, September 29 came and went without production workers receiving the wages they were promised.

“Defendant Woods made the decision to not pay Plaintiffs and similarly situated film production crew members,” the case alleges.

The plaintiffs claim they’re respectively owed anywhere from roughly $1,700 to more than $30,000 for the work they put in for the defendants.

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