Nebraska state auditor calls suspended Chief Standing Bear movie deal ‘lawsuit in the making’
By Jake Anderson
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LINCOLN, Nebraska (KETV) — Nebraska’s state auditor calls it “a lawsuit in the making” after a movie about the life of Chief Standing Bear is suspended over alleged contract breaches.
Nebraska’s Department of Economic Development awarded $5 million to the production “I Am A Man” in 2023.
Those funds, along with another $5 million in matching funds from a Hollywood company, were meant to be used to create a Chief Standing Bear biopic.
But Foley said the DED never verified those matching funds and paid I Am A Man more than $4 million in grants before Foley’s report showing the matching funds hadn’t been secured.
“Now they’re trying to negotiate with the department saying, ‘well, we can make a $3 million movie and make it look like a $10 million movie… Well now, it doesn’t work that way. It’s a movie. It’s very expensive to produce. And I think the viewers deserve, the taxpayers deserve a full $10 million production,” Foley said.
Foley added at least some revenue from the movie would have helped underserved communities in Omaha. That money likely will not make its way into communities now.
The photo of the sculpture of Chief Standing Bear and its artist previously used in this story is not affiliated with the film project.
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