Entertainment Litigation Blog

BATTLE OVER THIS YEAR'S SUNDANCE FESTIVAL PHENOM REVIVES AGE OLD QUESTION: WHEN IS A DEAL CONSIDERED A DEAL?

The fight over the rights to "Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire" reflects the same battle that has been fought time and again in Hollywood: when is a deal considered a deal. "Push" was the undisputed darling of the Sundance Film Festival last month. The film built up a steady buzz during the festival week. "Push" ultimately garnered the festival's US grand jury and audience prizes. And now, "Push" has spawned dueling lawsuits in New York and Los Angeles filed by the two suitors for North American distribution rights, The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Lionsgate.

So who knew that this drama -- about an illiterate African American teen in late '80s Harlem who is pregnant by her own father and abused by her mother -- could cause such a legal ruckus?

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION: SUNDANCE FILM "PUSH" SPARKS MULTIPLE LAWSUITS OVER FILM RIGHTS" »

TAKING A LESSON FROM BASEBALL'S STEROID SCANDALS

The task of protecting celebrities from public humiliation is difficult and complex. In a recent post, I discussed strategies to protect celebrities and, in particular, the need to be absolutely sure about the true facts before embarking upon aggressive response strategies. Recent revelations about the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball illustrate the problems for celebrities facing scandalous allegations.

The way different players handle these difficult issues can provide lessons on how to deal with such accusations against any celeb.

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION: UPDATE ON PROTECTING CELEBRITIES" »

WELL KNOWN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER TAKEN TO TASK OVER HIS REPRESENTATION OF LATE WRITER-DIRECTOR COLLIN HIGGINS

The Daily Variety reported yesterday that entertainment lawyer, Barry Hirsch, has been sued by the trust of the late writer-director, Collin Higgins, for malpractice. You can find the Variety story here.

According to the report, the Higgins trust sued Hirsch on January 14 for malpractice and conflicts of interest over Hirsch's representation of Higgins on his deal with Fox to rewrite the screenplay for the film "9 to 5" in 1979. Fox hired Higgins to rewrite Patricia Resnick's original screenplay for that picture.However, Resnick later wrote a stage musical based on "9 to 5" -- and Hirsch supposedly represented her in that endeavor.

That did not sit well with the Higgins trust.

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION: BARRY HIRSCH SUED FOR MALPRACTICE" »

SETTLEMENT PROMPTED BY CHRISTMAS EVE RULING

Certain details of the settlement between Fox and Warner Bros. over the "Watchmen" movie have been reported since my post yesterday on the end of the litigation between the studios.

The settlement apparently was prompted by a ruling by the court on December 24 that the film's producer, Larry Gordon, failed to properly secure the rights from Fox before setting up the project at Warners and that Fox owned the copyright to the property. Since Warners' rights were based on whatever rights Gordon acquired, the Christmas Eve ruling likely meant that Warners would have been enjoined from releasing "Watchmen" at the permanent injunction hearing scheduled for next week. The ultimate settlement between the parties was therefore inevitable.

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION: "WATCHMEN" SETTLEMENT UPDATE" »

FOX AND WARNER BROTHERS COME TO AN APPARENT AGREEMENT ON UPCOMING TENTPOLE FILM

In a filing with the United States District Court in Los Angeles yesterday, Fox and Warner Bros. revealed that they have apparently settled their differences over the upcoming motion picture, "Watchmen." The studios have been embroiled in a lawsuit since February 2008 over who controls the right to produce and distribute a motion picture based on the "graphic novel." Warner produced the picture and is the movie's distributor. Fox claimed that it still owned the rights to make and/or distribute any film based on the property.

I was asked to comment on the dispute for the Los Angeles Times in a story penned by John Horn in November 2008. That story details the long arduous process of getting the story to the silver screen -- which in large part caused this dispute among the studios.

Now that the film's opening is approaching, it's no surprise that the studios want to settle.

Continue reading "ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION: STUDIOS SETTLE "WATCHMEN" LITIGATION" »

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" »