The organisers of the Golden Globe Awards have been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit just days before the glitzy ceremony is due to roll into Hollywood.
Bosses at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), who run the annual prize-giving, are facing legal action from heads of a public relations firm they employed for 17 years.
Cinepoint Productions executives claim they made the Golden Globes one of the award season's most prominent events, and even scored the HFPA a $26 million (£17.3 million) annual deal with TV network NBC, which will commence in 2012.
According to a lawsuit filed on Thursday (13Jan11) in Los Angeles Superior Court, the HFPA promised to renew its contract with Cinepoint after it expired in 2009, but failed to honour the agreement.
Lawyers for Cinepoint are fighting for $2 million (£1.3 million) - the amount the firm would have earned from a continued working relationship with the HFPA - plus punitive damages, reports TMZ.com.
A host of Hollywood stars will flock to the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday (16Jan11) for the Golden Globes, which recognise achievements in both film and TV.