Exhibit A

An example of the legal wrangling (on official letterhead, no less) that went on during the filming of the Omni Zoetrope Production of Hammett (1980), based on the novel by Joe Gores. The film, eventually released by Orion Pictures/Warner Brothers, is a fictional account of Dashiel Hammett's early days as a writer, was directed by Wim Wenders, and starred Frederic Forrest as Hammett. Peter Boyle and Marilu Henner also starred.