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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n A judge has decreed that all versions of Never Get Busted!, an Australian documentary at the centre of a bitter dispute between two men who each claimed to be the principal director, must carry the credit \u201cdirected by Stephen McCallum\u201d.<\/p>\n The Federal Court ruling represents a resounding victory for McCallum in the years-long row over filmmaking credits that has included skirmishes at the Sundance Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF).<\/p>\n In orders handed down last week<\/a>, Justice Yaseen Shariff decreed that all versions of the film must carry the credit \u201cdirected by Stephen McCallum\u201d in such a way that it is clear he was its principal director.<\/p>\n Shariff also declared that producer David Ngo is to be prohibited from identifying himself in any way that suggests he was its principal director.<\/p>\n Projector Films, the production company run by Ngo and his business partner Daniel Joyce, must pay McCallum $25,000, the outstanding portion of his fee for the film on which he worked over a period of four years before being sidelined from the project in 2023.<\/p>\n In a concession to Ngo\u2019s argument that he exercised significant authorial control over the film about Barry Cooper, a former US drug cop turned pro-drug activist, the judge ruled that Ngo can be identified \u201cwith the term \u2018director\u2019 provided [that]\u2026 a credit reading \u2018directed by Stephen McCallum\u2019 [is] the last directing credit card before the title at the beginning of the documentary [and] the first directing credit card after the fade-out at the end\u201d.<\/p>\n In the conventions of filmmaking credits, those positions make it clear that McCallum is the principal director of the film.<\/p>\n The orders follow Shariff\u2019s decision in favour of McCallum in February<\/a>. In his 284-page ruling, the judge wrote \u201cI am satisfied that Mr McCallum is the sole principal director of the documentary,\u201d adding \u201cwhile I am satisfied that Mr Ngo is a director of the documentary, I am not satisfied that he is a principal director\u201d.<\/p>\n Related Article Shariff found in February that Projector Films had engaged in deceptive and misleading conduct, had breached McCallum\u2019s moral rights, and had breached its director\u2019s agreement with him. Friday\u2019s orders set out the remedies Ngo and Projector must make in response to those findings.<\/p>\n The case is a rare instance of a credit dispute \u2013 which is not an uncommon occurrence in the screen industry \u2013 making it to court.<\/p>\n Australian Directors Guild president Darren Ashton hailed the result as significant for not only recognising the role of the director but also because it sends \u201ca clear message to producers who try to make false or misleading claims in relation to the creation and execution of a film or TV program that they will be exposed and that the director\u2019s moral rights in the films they direct cannot be waived.<\/p>\n \u201cCredit creep is an increasing element of contemporary filmmaking, no question,\u201d Ashton said. \u201cThere are projects where there are more executive producers than cast.\u201d The ruling would, he said, \u201cmake those seeking credits outside the accepted industry standard and\/or contracted agreement more unlikely. It will stop those who are essentially \u2018credit grabbing\u2019 \u2013 that\u2019s the truth of it.\u201d<\/p>\n McCallum was hired to work on the project, originally envisaged as a three- or four-episode series, in late 2019. Last August he told this masthead: \u201cI directed all of the 30-plus interviews in Never Get Busted!, which were conducted over four years, all over the world. Every time I was the sole director. David Ngo was a producer on set, who handled the audio and data wrangling. To my knowledge there are no interviews that have been directed by David Ngo in Never Get Busted!\u201d<\/p>\n In late 2023, the relationship between McCallum and Ngo broke down to such a degree that McCallum was locked out of the edit.<\/p>\n As Ngo wrested control of the project from McCallum, the credits evolved. In January 2024, Ngo was listed on imdb.com as McCallum\u2019s co-director for the first time. At various stages, he would be listed as sole director, principal director, co-director (with McCallum), and even as showrunner, alongside his partner, Erin Williams-Weir.<\/p>\n As the trial heard, that became a bit much even for Ngo\u2019s colleague, Daniel Joyce.<\/p>\n \u201cIt starts to look like a credits grab to anyone outside of the team, and even knowing how much you\u2019ve led the creative, I even think it\u2019s OTT,\u201d Joyce wrote to Ngo in an email that was read out in court. \u201cPick a credit. Don\u2019t go for them all.\u201d<\/p>\n In December 2024, Never Get Busted! was announced as part of the Sundance Film Festival line-up, with no director identified. When McCallum wrote to Sundance to point out that he was the director, he was told the festival did not get involved in credit disputes. He filed a claim that month in the Federal Court alleging his right of attribution had been infringed.<\/p>\n When the film premiered at the festival in January 2025, it was billed as \u201cthe debut feature from David Ngo\u201d. McCallum\u2019s name was missing. McCallum flew to the US, intending to attend the premiere of the film he had directed but as he stood in line to enter the cinema, security staff approached him and ordered him to leave.<\/p>\n Back in Australia, attempts at mediation failed and the case proceeded to trial.<\/p>\n The film was slated to make its Australian debut at MIFF in August 2025, with Ngo to appear in a Q&A session. Days before that event, Justice Shariff handed down an interim ruling that Ngo could not be credited as the film\u2019s director. The MIFF screening went ahead, but the Q&A session did not.<\/p>\n Now, with only damages and costs still to be determined, McCallum says he feels vindicated in his decision to fight for fair credit.<\/p>\n \u201cThis an important ruling, not just for me, but for all Australian directors and filmmakers to ensure we are correctly attributed. This has been an incredibly challenging time for myself and my family, but I would 100 per cent do it again to ensure rights of our artists are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n McCallum said the excision of his name from the credits at Sundance was the spur to his taking legal action.<\/p>\n \u201cI was put in a situation where my \u2018Directed By\u2019 credit had been deliberately excluded from one of the biggest film festivals in the world on a project that I had been the principal director on for over four years. I had no choice but to fight for my rights to be correctly attributed.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the judgment coming down heavily in McCallum\u2019s favour, David Ngo says he feels vindicated too.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving dedicated more than six years to this project, I am pleased that the court has formally recognised my status as a director,\u201d he told this masthead.<\/p>\n The judge did acknowledge the important role Ngo played in making Never Get Busted!, while making it clear that this did not make him the film\u2019s principal director.<\/p>\n \u201cI accept that Mr Ngo has had a unique role in the making of the documentary,\u201d Shariff wrote in his judgment in February. \u201cTogether with Ms Williams-Weir, Mr Ngo conceived the idea of making the documentary. As a creator of the idea, it followed that Mr Ngo had a vision as to what the documentary would entail in conveying the story of Mr Cooper\u2019s life \u2026 through [his] various roles as creator, producer, writer, and editor, Mr Ngo not only had input into various aspects of the creative process but undertook important aspects of the creative work. In this sense, it is understandable that Mr Ngo thinks that he is the creative force of the documentary.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, Sharif added, \u201cit is necessary to observe that Mr Ngo is partly to blame for his predicament\u201d, describing him as a \u201cman keen to receive public adulation and recognition as the primary creative force of the documentary\u201d.<\/p>\n The judge described Ngo as an \u201cunsatisfactory witness\u201d who was \u201ckeen to convey misleading impressions to the court [and] prepared to \u2018spin\u2019 things to suit his own interests\u201d.<\/p>\n For McCallum, the point was never to disavow Ngo\u2019s contributions. It was simply to ensure he was credited for the work he had done, not erased from it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThis case was never about who is the \u2018auteur\u2019 of the film,\u201d he says. \u201cDavid Ngo and I were a creative team on Never Get Busted! My role since inception was principal director, David\u2019s was producer and writer.<\/p>\n \u201cI have always collaborated with writers and producers on projects,\u201d he adds. \u201cThat collaboration doesn\u2019t mean that I am a producer any more than my writer\/producer collaborators are directors.\u201d<\/p>\n Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/45a5ccb4a191ca4daa2c66d02ed34c44279aaf6a.jpeg\")
Stephen McCallum worked on the documentary Never Get Busted! for four years. He\u2019s spent the past two years fighting for the right to have that work acknowledged.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/59e5ba59e42b1428ddc67a388b636ab377925c95.jpeg\")
David Ngo and his wife Erin Williams-Weir at the Sundance screening of Never Get Busted!, which McCallum was prevented from attending by festival security staff.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Barry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a8ec305d545fe84b2251055f363aeaa2e8f9124f.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9057f1d4985229ca0f4370ad4cf80ddca8d6dfb2.jpeg\")
The credits for the series (or is it a movie?) Never Get Busted! evolved over time.Screengrab<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1308fd948629c34d16c62f297ed621e9d11d6fd2.jpeg\")
The Sundance credits page for Never Get Busted.Sundance Festival<\/p>\n