Adrien Brody is suing the producers of "Giallo," a horror movie he shot two years ago in Italy, claiming they owe him $640,000, court record show.

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Martin Barab, a lawyer for Hannibal Pictures, one of the defendants named in the suit, told CNN Brody has been paid $960,000 for his work, but is still owed the rest of his $1.5 million fee.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, alleges funding for the project fell through and Brody's renegotiated contract "expressly granted the absolute right to withhold consent to the use of his likeness in the picture until he was paid the full amount of the $640,000 that he deferred," CNN said.

Barab has countered that Brody's agreement also specified his paycheck would come from the sale of the Italian distribution rights to the film and when that deal fell apart all parties involved lost out.

"He's not the only one who didn't get his money," Barab said.

The movie was released directly to DVD last month.

Brody is best known for his films "The Pianist," "King Kong" and "Summer of Sam."