Shakaama

Kevin Costner spent more than $20 million of his own money on a machine that pulls oil out of seawater. Stephen Baldwin sold his piece for $500,000, then sued for millions. Two days before that sale, Costner told Congress BP had already ordered machines. In the video below, it's June 9, 2010, seven weeks into the BP spill. Costner says he bought the patent from the Department of Energy in 1993 and "the price tag would be over $20 million and I paid it." For years, he says, he was told it was "too expensive." Then: "Initial orders have also been placed by BP for individual machines." On June 11, Baldwin and his partner Spyridon Contogouris signed away their stakes in Costner's company, Ocean Therapy Solutions. Baldwin's 10% went for $500,000, according to his own lawsuit. On June 15, BP announced it would lease 32 machines, a $52 million order. Baldwin said nobody told him how close the deal was. Costner's side said it was in the news, and in that testimony. In 2012 a federal jury in New Orleans sat through two weeks of trial and took less than two hours. Baldwin and Contogouris got nothing. For Baldwin: he says he used his own fame to promote the machines while filming a documentary about the spill. For Costner: he paid for it alone for 17 years before a big buyer showed up. Costner: "My name means more to me than money and that's why we didn't settle." Baldwin's lawyer said the bigger celebrity won. Did Costner cheat Baldwin out of a $52 million deal, or did Baldwin just sell too early?