Entertainment Litigation Blog

ACTORS' DEAL EXPIRES WITH NO PACT ON THE HORIZON

July 1 has come and gone with no deal in place which would prevent another crippling strike in Hollywood. The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reportedly reached an impasse in their negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the previous agreement, which expired at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning. While the two sides are scheduled to meet today, public statements by AMPTP representatives make clear that the studios are unwilling to consider any changes to their final proposal which they transmitted on Monday, June 30.

For its part, SAG has acknowledged that the studios' final proposal is "generally consistent" with the agreements that the studios brokered with other guilds, including SAG's sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The studios first reached agreement with the Directors Guild of America in January. That agreement helped facilitate a resolution with the Writers Guild of America after an extended writers strike which halted production virtually across the board. Recently, the studios reached agreement with AFTRA on a new agreement with that union. The voting results of the AFTRA membership should be known some time next week.

Apparently, those deals are not good enough for some at SAG.

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: ANOTHER STRIKE BREWING?" »

STUDIO'S HOME VIDEO ARM ORDERED TO PAY OVER $6 MILLION TO CREDITORS OF PRODUCTION COMPANY

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) breached its US video distribution agreement for the motion picture The Patriot when it deducted millions of dollars in alleged distribution costs. The judge also held BVHE liable for improperly terminating the video distribution of the picture, ruling that BVHE's failure to distribute the picture violated the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

After years of complicated litigation, BVHE was ordered to pay over $6 million.

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION: DISNEY LOSES TRIAL REGARDING PROFITS FROM "THE PATRIOT"" »

INFLUX OF TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS MAY BE AT ODDS WITH NOTORIOUS ACCOUNTING PRACTICES

Back in the day, the ways in which movies were financed called to mind the adage about never wanting to see how sausages are made. Producers using credit cards and borrowing money from friends and family to get their movies to the silver screen were legend. Others tell of the wealthy spending millions of dollars on films to satisfy a desire to mingle with the stars or see their names on the screen.

Times have changed.

Continue reading "FILM FINANCING: WALL STREET INVADES HOLLYWOOD" »