The story of 47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch’s legal battle with Netflix has been a wild one, and there’s been a further development as the trial approaches. Rinch is being charged with defrauding Netflix out of $11 million, but according to his defence lawyers, he can’t be found guilty because he was in a “state of pyschosis” while working with the streaming service.
Rinch’s defence filed a motion today stating that they will be calling a psychiatrist, Dr. John Mariani, to the stand to show that the director was “incapable of forming the intent required for a fraud charge.” The defence states, “Dr. Mariani is also expected to testify that Mr. Rinsch’s mental conditions were likely exacerbated by external factors including the use of prescription stimulants and the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.“
The defence also argues that the prosecution hasn’t detailed exactly how Rinch is supposed to have defrauded Netflix. “Mr. Rinsch thus remains in the dark as to how exactly he is alleged to have defrauded Netflix,” they wrote. “Mr. Rinsch cannot adequately prepare his defence to the wire fraud charge without additional information.”
Rinch also recently claimed that he’s so broke he can’t even afford to attend his hearing.
Netflix had hired Rinch to develop a sci-fi series which involved a scientist who created a humanlike species that rebelled against its creators. Netflix apparently spent $55 million on the series, but Rinsch requested an additional $11 million. That money was quickly transferred into Rinsch’s personal accounts, and the director allegedly went on a spending spree. The series was never finished, and Netflix ultimately cancelled the project, with a spokesperson saying, “After a lot of time and effort, it became clear that Mr. Rinsch was never going to complete the project he agreed to make, and so we wrote the project off.” That could have been the end of it, but Rinsch actually sued Netflix for more than $14 million, which he claimed he was contractually obligated to. The director also apparently stated that he had discovered how to map “the coronavirus signal emanating from within the earth” and could predict lightning strikes.
In a later arbitration hearing, Rinch testified that his behaviour was the result of his autism spectrum disorder. “Whatever’s going on there, I can tell you it’s not drug-induced,” he said. “It’s not mentally ill. It’s exacerbating a different neurotype that most people might not be able to understand.“
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