contracts

An Amazon MGM Studios executive allegedly solicited kickbacks from an aspiring vendor in exchange for post-production contract awards on shows, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Joe Eckardt, owner and president of Hollywood-based postproduction services firm Unbreakable Post, alleged that the studio’s head of postproduction, Frank Salinas, told him during a business lunch in 2023 that Salinas could “ensure” Unbreakable Post would be included as an approved vendor to bid on Amazon-affiliated projects.

Salinas would give Eckardt the target budget number for his company’s bid and “effectively guarantee that Unbreakable would be awarded the work,” the lawsuit states.

After the contract was awarded, Eckardt would then pay Salinas a percentage of the project value as a kickback, the lawsuit says.

After Eckardt refused, he alleges that his contract opportunities with Amazon dried up.

He states in the lawsuit that although he had done “substantial” work, served as a postproduction consultant or selected vendor on shows such as the Mexico, Brazil and Argentina productions of the reality series “Temptation Island” and the third season of documentary series “Coach Prime,” he was not selected by Amazon for a contract with those projects.

In 2025, Eckardt alleges that he reported Salinas’ conduct to Amazon and after six months of information gathering, the company told him that “its investigation had concluded and that the allegations were ‘not substantiated.’”

Amazon MGM Studios did not respond to a request for comment. Salinas declined to comment.

Eckardt’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He alleges that he lost more than $1 million in contracts, income and future business opportunities. He is seeking a jury trial.

Defence deal is latest example of deepening ties between Canberra and Tokyo amid shared concerns over China’s rise.

Australia and Japan have signed contracts for the first three of 11 warships set to be delivered to the Australian navy under a landmark $7bn defence deal, as the two close US allies in the Asia Pacific region deepen defence cooperation.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the announcement in Melbourne on Saturday at the signing ceremony for the Mogami-class warships.

The “Mogami Memorandum” pledges to deepen military ties, including through “closer industrial cooperation” in defence.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build three of the stealth frigates in southern Nagasaki Prefecture, while Australia’s Austal will build eight in Western Australia.

The first of the Japanese-built warships is scheduled to be delivered in 2029 and enter service in 2030.

“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades,” Marles said in a statement.

“These general-purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”

Shinjiro said closer defence coordination was becoming more important as Australia and Japan faced an “increasingly severe security environment”.

Australia’s government last year announced that it had chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build its fleet of next-generation warships, following a bidding war between the Tokyo-based firm and Germany’s Thyssenkrupp.

Australia has committed to a record $305bn in military spending over the next decade, as part of a widespread defence overhaul aimed at boosting the country’s naval power to levels not seen since World War II.

Under the plans, Canberra’s defence spending is set to rise to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 3033, from about 2 percent now.

Australia and Japan, two of the United States’ closest allies, have ramped up military cooperation in recent years amid shared concerns about shifts in the regional security environment, particularly China’s rising influence. Tokyo and Canberra are also members of the Quad security bloc led by the US.