No doubt you'll recall all those lawsuits stemming from 20th Century Fox's Borat alleging Sacha Baron Cohen had duped people and made them look like morons even though they'd signed consent forms. The complaints were quashed, and in some cases Fox even countersued for attorney fees and won. So it was inevitable that there'd be a Bruno lawsuit filed a few days ago against Universal Pictures. This one claims that, at a 2007 charity bingo game in Palmdale, Cohen and his crew created a ruckus and physically assaulted the woman who was emceeing; she allegedly passed out, hit her head and is now confined to a wheelchair. Now Universal responds:
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 5 -- The allegations made by Richelle and Lance Olson in their complaint are completely baseless. Filmed footage of the full encounter, which took place more than two years ago, clearly shows that Ms. Olson was never touched or in any way assaulted by Sacha Baron Cohen or any member of the production and suffered no injury. If the Olsons elect to proceed with their frivolous action, we expect each of the defendants to be fully vindicated.
That is from the letter which a representative for Jon Peters sent to his autobiography's publisher Friday explaining why he couldn't go through with the deal. I have the letter and am posting it (see below). The letter follows by 24 hours DHD's exclusive posting of the entire 35-page book proposal except for a few paragraphs I deemed too invasive or too boring. (See my IT SHOULD BE CALLED 'DICKHEAD': Why Jon Peters' Book Proposal Sets New Low.) (Before that, various news and gossip outlets made references to the proposal, and quoted a few paragraphs from the proposal, but no news outlet had posted the entire proposal like DHD did on Thursday.) The New York Post's Page Six today excerpted the cancellation letter. But here is the entire letter which makes clear that Peters is only cancelling the book deal, NOT the book itself:
A class action lawsuit was filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court against ICM, the talent agency's EVP Jack Gilardi, and an outside personal manager named John Rockwell described as a "Hollywood hustler and close friend of Gilardi". It alleges sexual battery, fraud, and a conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act to "hip-pocket" actresses for sexual exploitation. TMZ first reported on the lawsuit, and I have now had a chance to read it. ICM gave this statement to me: the "allegations are outrageous and completely false. ICM denies any and all wrongdoing and will vigorously defend this action."
Claire Robinson, a former Miss British Columbia 2004 and 23-year-old Canadian fashion model, is the plaintiff representing the class of other "similarly situated" women. These are defined as "all female actresses who were falsely promised representation by ICM through a 'hip-pocket' arrangement and who were sexually battered or sexually harassed by a co-conspirator." The practice of hip-pocketing is described by the lawsuit as occuring "when an experienced, well-established senior agent extends the promise of representation to an actress without credit or experience" but never actually takes the "hip-pocketed" actress through the formal procedures of firm representation and then sexually exploits the woman. ICM sources tell me that Robinson is not listed in their records as a client.
Though the class action claims to "chronicle how young actresses wind up on the 'casting couch' to be sexually exploited through a criminal conspiracy of powerful men in the entertainment industry," ... Read More »
I wrote back in 2007 how Hollywood was outsourcing legal research, legal analysis, legal opinion and legal contract drafting services to India to lower the high costs of litigation. One of the cases I cited was how the India arm of UK Channel 4's American counsel was outsourcing to rebut a defamation action against Da Ali G Show. Now those Indian lawyers have won the high-profile libel litigation in Los Angeles.
The lawsuit was filed against Sacha Baron Cohen, Channel 4 Television network, and HBO’s Da Ali G Show. Seems a woman (aka "Jane Doe") who once knew the comedian claimed that Cohen, while playing the role of “Ali G”, libeled her by name during a spoof interview with historian Gore Vidal by claiming to have had sex with her. I'm told this was the first high profile U.S. media litigation in which the legal research and first drafts of the motion papers for the defense were completed entirely off-shore by Indian attorneys at a legal outsourcing company supervised by New York-based SmithDehn LLP.
Today's LA Superior Court victory on the Ali G motion threw out the lawsuit. “No reasonable person could consider the statements made by Ali G on the program to be factual. To the contrary, it is obvious that the Ali G character is absurd, and all his statements are gibberish and intended as comedy... Altogether, the program is obviously a spoof of a serious interview program. No reasonable ... Read More »
Expect an uneventful week in this continuing story as both sides' pitbull lawyers have taken over the process right now. Meanwhile, a lot of other agencies are telling me they're already starting to feel the benefits of the tenpercentery shakeup by beginning talks with agents who may not make the cut at both WMA and Endeavor. But also look for some of those reps to band together and start their own agencies.
UPDATED: Lifetime can go forward with its version of Project Runway after NBC Universal went to court to stop The Weinstein Company from moving the show from Bravo. Now there's a settlement. But let's call it what it really is: a complete surrender by money-challenged Harvey Weinstein. I'm told that "tons of millions of dollars" were paid by Harv to Jeff Zucker's fiefdom -- not just NBC-Uni legal fees, a claim Weinstein is trying to peddle to the media. The fact is that NBC Universal won every round of this lawsuit, and it even says so in the statement of congratulations from Harvey. (Did they have him strapped down at the time for waterboarding?) As for Lifetime, I hear it's getting a revamped show that's not as good as the Bravo original. And Lifetime can't even put it on the air until late summer. By then, it's going to be Project Who?
Look at these laugh riot statements:
NBC Universal said today: "NBC Universal, The Weinstein Company and Lifetime have resolved their disputes. The Weinstein Company will pay NBCU for the right to move Project Runway to Lifetime. All of the parties are pleased with the outcome.
Harvey Weinstein added, "I want to personally congratulate Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner. We look forward to working together on our ongoing projects.”
Andrea ... Read More »
Tomorrow morning, actor Tim Daly, Co-President of The Creative Coalition, will testify before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee on the positive impact that the entertainment and arts communities have on the nation’s economy. Daly’s testimony will "focus on arts and entertainment as vital business enterprises which play an essential role in creating jobs across America".
News reports say Discovery Communications has filed a lawsuit alleging that Amazon's Kindle infringes on a patent held by the Big Media company.
Professional curmudgeon Harlan Ellison is suing CBS-Paramount in connection with his famed teleplay for the original Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever", 42 years after its original airing. He's alleging the Big Media company allegedly has failed to pay him for the merchandising, publishing, and other exploitations of his work from inception to present day. The suit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California also names the Writers Guild of America -- despite Ellison being a 47-year member and twice on its board of directors -- and accuses the guild of failing to act on Ellison’s behalf after numerous requests. You may recall Ellison’s episode because it starred Joan Collins as salvation sister Edith Keeler, the woman Captain Kirk loved and then watched die, andis often ranked among “100 Greatest Television Episodes of All Time”. Also according to Ellison's complaint, CBS-Paramount will not send statements or admit anything is owed.
This time, it's Kevin Kachikian, the computer guy who developed the Telesleuth wiretapping program with Pellicano. Federal Judge Dale Fischer sentenced him to 27 months. He is free on $100,000 bail pending an appeal.
News reports say Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino have teamed up in a lawsuit against a movie distributor and a watch company they say used their names, voices, and likenesses without permission. The actors said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan this week that they never authorized a commercial tie-in between Tutima watches and Overture Films, the distributor of their recently released pic Righteous Kill. "Had their permission been sought, both De Niro and Pacino would have flatly refused," the lawsuit said, stressing that De Niro has only commercially endorsed a product or service in the United States under very "specific and compelling circumstances" while Pacino in his career has never commercially endorsed any product or service in the United States. All actors no matter how famous have automatic protections in the standard SAG contracts against precisely this sort of thing. Yet the AMPTP's proposed SAG contract seeks to remove those protections and not seek anybody's consent for reuse of their clips and likeness. The AMPTP also is demanding that there be no prior notification of a sponsor's involvement or request to plug a product within a scene.
Federal Judge Dale Fischer sentenced ex-LAPD cop Mark Arneson, who got paid by Pellicano to run names illegally through law enforcement computers, to 121 months or 10 years in prison. And Ray Turner, the ex-Pacific Bell technician who helped Pellicano establish wiretaps, also was sentenced to the same jail term. Abner Nicherie, who hired Pellicano to wiretap a business adversary, was sentenced this afternoon to a 21-month prison term. Kevin Kachikian, the computer whiz who helped Pellicano develop the Telesleuth program will be sentenced on March 9th. Arneson and Turner were immediately handcuffed and hauled away. Hollywood producer Chuck Roven's victim letter was submitted today to the court prior to sentencing. In, it, he talks about dealing with the invasion of privacy after learning his conversations with his family, friends and business associates were listened in on by John McTiernan and Pellicano. U.S. prosecutors Dan Saunders and Kevin Lally are readying to indict McTiernan again.
News reports say federal Judge Dale Fischer on Monday allowed the Die Hard and Hunt For Red October helmer John McTiernan to withdraw his guilty plea to lying to the FBI about the Pellicano scandal that involved Hollywood wiretapping. Immediately, assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Saunders, who prosecuted the Pellicano cases, said at the hearing that a new indictment against McTiernan would be forthcoming. A March 23rd hearing is set. The 58-year-old director requested the plea withdrawal on grounds he had inadequate legal representation and was jet-lagged and under the influence of alcohol when he agreed to it back in 2006. The charge of perjury against him claimed he paid Pellicano to illegally wiretap film producer Charles Roven over 2002's Rollerball, and then lie to the FBI about it. In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated McTiernan’s 4-month prison sentence and ruled that he was entitled to a hearing on whether he could withdraw his plea. Pellicano has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
Don Johnson and his production company filed suit today in L.A. Superior Court seeking to recover profits from 2929 Entertainment -- owned by billionaire Mark Cuban, Rysher Entertainment and Qualia Capital -- over Nash Bridges. The breach of contract case involves the six-year, 122-episode TV series which he claims generated more than $300 million in revenue, including over $150 million from worldwide syndication. “Nash Bridges is a very successful series and I am entitled to half of the profits, which I have not received,” said Johnson in a press release. The complaint alleges that:
-- Don Johnson Productions is owed tens of millions of dollars from the defendants for its half of the profits from the copyright Don Johnson Productions owns in the hit series that Don Johnson co-conceived, starred in, and produced.
-- As the series star, Don Johnson, through Don Johnson Productions, negotiated and obtained a 50% interest in the series’ copyright.
-- Despite being co-owner of the copyright, Don Johnson Productions has not received its share of the revenues generated from the series syndication.
Johnson's lawsuit is being handled by Kirkland & Ellis lawyers Robert Krupka and Mark Holscher.
BREAKING NEWS! (keep refreshing) The deal is finally done, and Warner Bros' highly anticipated Watchmen -- based on the comic book series/graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons -- won't be held hostage. I'm hearing that in tonight's settlement, Fox will not be an active distributor of the pic, but will receive up to 8 1/2% gross participation in the pic, and a piece of everything going forward including a sequel or spinoff, and a cash payment upfront including recoupment of its development costs and attorney fees, and god-only-knows what else. Because neither Fox nor Warner Bros would comment on the terms. But Legendary Pictures already owns a chunk of Watchmen. So cutting Fox in now as another partner really plays havoc with Warner Bros' economics on the movie. Studios hate when that happens.
[FYI, The Hollywood Reporter jumped the gun on this settlement story and got it wrong. Twice in one week for the two trades. Though THR posted at 5:25 PM PT that the deal was done, the fact is that my sources said important issues had yet to be resolved. Only at 7:15 PM was the studios' settlement concluded. Also THR claimed at first that Fox didn't get a piece of Watchmen going forward in a sequel or spinoff. But the trade corrected this at 8:30 PM.]
The settlement will be presented on Friday at 9:30 AM to federal judge Gary Feess who set ... Read More »
There's still more legal and financial trouble in the offing for David Bergstein and his ThinkFilm and Capitol Film production and distribution empire. 
I've learned that producer David Permut's Permut Productions and comedian Bob Saget's Two Angels Inc are filing a lawsuit in Los Angeles today against Bergstein and his two movie companies over their spoof of March Of The Penguins called Farce Of The Penguins. The direct-to-DVD raunchy comedy made for a mere $1 million pre-sold its foreign rights and scored a Showtime deal. Insiders tell me that Farce was almost "pure profit" -- especially after the filmmakers used stock footage of penguins (when Warner Bros and the original French March filmmakers didn't want Permut and Saget to "fuck with their penguins"), 
and after Permut and Saget waived 100% of their fees to be gross participants (15%) in the film. But the pair say they haven't been given the agreed-upon quarterly accountings duribng the first 3 years of the movie's proceeds except for one "producer report". And they now believe that Bergstein's firms have received "several million dollars in gross receipts". Instead, they've been met with "Radio silence. Nothing. We had our people ask for the money, and there's no response. It falls on deaf ears," one insider tells me. "One doesn't go down this path unless there is no other option."
According to the complaint for fraud and accounting, and intentional tort interference with a contractual relationship, "David ... Read More »
3RD UPDATE: Lawyers for both Fox and Warner Bros asked federal judge Gary Feess today to delay an upcoming hearing in the Watchmen case because "settlement talks have been productive" and need to continue over the weekend. The special conference had been requested by WB attorneys in order to move up the January 20th date at which Judge Feess hands down his ruling that could change the release date of Watchmen off March 6th. The judge granted the postponement but is sticking, for now, to his January 20th date. According to court documents, Fox and Warner Bros have conducted the settlement talks since last weekend and made concessions. This is surprising since WB lawyers announced they would continue to fight immediately after Feess announced his intention to rule in favor of Fox for copyight infringement and distribution rights.
2ND UPDATE: I can confirm that backchannel talks are finally underway between Fox and Warner Bros. Insiders tell me that this is the first time both sides are trying to hash out a settlement. Of course, Fox has been complaining all along that its approaches to WB have been rebuffed since long before the movie was even made. But I also heard that WB wouldn't even engage after federal judge Gary Feess recently announced his intention to rule in Fox's favor on the copyright infringement and distribution angle. Now, sources tell me, "Warner Bros is finally freaked out."
UPDATE: ... Read More »
Hollywood has been especially curious about producer Larry Gordon's role smack in the middle of this Fox vs Warner Bros lawsuit over Watchmen. In federal judge George Feess' latest ruling, there's this interesting footnote:
WATCHMEN RULING: Where Was Larry?
I've just learned tonight that the Fox Filmed Entertainment brass, because of the holiday, didn't even know they had won! The New York Times' Michael Cieply was first to get hands on today's five-page written order issued by Gary A. Feess, a Los Angeles-based judge in the United States District Court for Central California, stating how he intends to rule soon in the closely watched case. I broke the news in August when Feess denied a Warner Bros motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox's legal battle over the rights to develop, produce and distribute a highly anticipated film based on the graphic novel Watchmen written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Fox was seeking to enjoin Warner Bros from going forward with the project and releasing it in March 2009, and Feess back then refused to deep-six Fox's lawsuit filed on February 12th. Everyone assumed there would be a trial starting in late Janury over the legal issues because Feess at an earlier hearing said he believed one was necessary to settle the case.
But now Feess has abruptly done an about-face, saying he has reconsidered and concluded that Fox should prevail. So Feess intends to grant 20th Century Fox’s claim that it owns a copyright interest in the Warner Bros pic. “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion ... Read More »
Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
Loading ...
