Hollywood hotshot buddies Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio have had a great year in terms of films. Maguire joined the ranks of A-listers with massive blockbuster clout with the towering Spider-Man 2, while DiCaprio's The Aviator is earning the actor tremendous critical acclaim from all corners.

Now, in an odd twist, they've just been sued. People magazine reports that the producer of a 1995 film starring the boys, then fledgling actors, has now hit them with a $38 million lawsuit!

John Schindler, the director of Don's Plum, an unreleased film about a group of friends hanging out at a diner, says the stars scared off potential distributors with threats that DiCaprio will not work with them on other projects if they released the low-budget, black and white film.

The complaint takes issue with DiCaprio and Maguire's claim that the film was not meant for commercial release.

Publicists for the stars have not commented on the lawsuit.

In 1999, DiCaprio and Maguire settled a $10 million lawsuit with another co-producer David Stutman, who also accused them of using Leonardo's Hollywood clout to stop the independent film from be released. The actors claim they made the film as a 'favour to a friend' and that there was a provision saying Don's Plum would never be promoted as a feature-length film.

A pirated 'release' might not be the worst result, actually. For all parties involved.

Photograph: Getty Images