Amid an opening weekend haul of $33.6 million and chatter of a sequel, a damning report emerging today has threatened to cast a shadow over Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon’s Sausage Party.
Claiming to have worked closely on the R-rated cartoon, anonymous animators have accused production company Nitrogen Studios of forcing creators to work overtime for free under “unfair pressure tactics.”
These conditions, according to a source close to The Hollywood Reporter, were used “against the team: intimidating staff into working past official studio hours, disciplinary measures utilizing fear tactics that demotivate and cause distress (such as threatening to terminate employment), implying that other departments are working overtime ‘voluntarily’ as a reason to deny compensation.”
Eager to hammer down production costs – Sausage Party‘s budget was said to be around $20 million – Nitrogen Studios reportedly used the vast majority of this work without crediting the artist, with a source stating that:
Almost half the animation team was not credited. The team believed in this film and poured their hearts and souls into it. Despite this, more than half of it was not credited. You can see the full team on IMDB, which contains 83 people (and I am certain there are some missing). The film’s credits, however, contains 47.
Much of these allegations can be traced back to Cartoon Brew‘s original post, and the comments section makes for fairly interesting reading.
Nitrogen Studios has categorically denied any foul play, though, with chief creative officer Greg Tiernan telling THR that “these statements are without merit. Our production adhered to all overtime regulations and our contractual obligations to our artists. Any time that any concern was brought up, it was handled appropriately.”
Sausage Party is out now in theaters, but what are your thoughts on this thorny issue? Sound off below and let us know!
