It was supposed to be Bruce Willis's directorial debut, a psychological thriller starring the actor himself alongside Owen Wilson and Kieran Culkin. But five weeks into pre-production it became clear that the movie was facing a rather major problem: there was no money available to make it.

At least, that's the line taken by Willis himself in a lawsuit filed yesterday against the producers of the spiked project Three Stories About Joan. The actor wants $8.7m (£6.1m) in compensatory damages from Moshe Diamant, Mark Damon, Foresight Unlimited, Signature Entertainment Group, Three Stories Productions and 20 other parties, Variety reports.

Willis says he was promised that the producers would provide a commitment letter confirming they had obtained $20m (£14m) in financing 30 days before the start of the movie shoot. He also says he was told that his acting fee would be handed over seven days before filming began. But he says Diamant admitted to him on the eve of the start of production proper that the money just was not there.

The producers maintain a different version of events. On 27 February they sued Willis for $4m (£2.8m) for breach of contract over his departure from the project, claiming he quit without due notice. The case continues.