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On the day that AFM 2012 opens, a film that was sold at AFM 2009 got pulled into court. In a civil complaint filed today (read it here), MIME Investments claims that they lost $4 million on Little Murder because GK Films lied to them about how much the film would make in international sales. “Defendants intentionally provided Plaintiffs with overinflated false estimates for the foreign sales of the Picture and provided Plaintiffs with false assurances that the estimates would be achieved”, says the Fraud and Negligent Misrepresentation suit. A Little Murder sizzle reel was shown to buyers at the 2009 AFM. The thriller released in 2011 stars Josh Lucas and Terrence Howard. GK Film’s former President of International Distribution Lisa Wilson, Parlay Films, cited as a banner of GK Films, and other company employees are also targeted as defendants in the case.
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GK Films Sued By ‘Little Murder’ Investors
WME Petitions Court For $1.95M From Tommy Lee Jones
William Morris Endeavor today filed a petition to get Tommy Lee Jones to pay the $1.95 million in commissions the state Labor Commissioner recently ruled the No Country For Old Men actor owes the agency. WME’s filing today (read it here) with the California Superior Court arises out of the appeal the Oscar winner filed on October 10, with an amendment on October 19, against the Labor Commissioner’s October 1 ruling. WME says it can still push for its money now because Jones did not follow procedure. “A prevailing party in a Labor Commission proceeding may enforce an award where the opposing party has appealed the award but has failed to post the requisite bond,” WME’s action today noted. “To date, Jones has not posted a bond…Absent a satisfactory bond, an award issued by the Labor Commissioner is not stayed and may be confirmed by the Superior Court,” it added. Today’s petition requests a hearing date from the court for a ruling on its request. Read More »
TruTV Sued For Allegedly Stealing ‘Caught Red Handed’
Two aspiring show creators launched a lawsuit against TruTV today for supposedly lifting their idea for a series about shoplifters. In their suit (read it here) Harry Dunn and Steven Bloch say that in March 2008 they pitched TrueTV a show called Hands Off The Merchandise about identifying and catching shoplifters for retailers. Actually, the duo, who say they came up with the idea for the show, didn’t actually engage with the network. Producers Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey, with whom Dunn and Bloch signed a collaboration agreement, did that for them. In 2009, after various meetings and “enthusiasm,” as the suit puts it, on the network’s part, TruTV told Hallock and Healey that they were going to pass on the idea. The producers passed the bad news onto Bloch and Dunn.
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Warner Bros Hits Counterfeiters On Amazon Hard In Court
Warner Bros Home Entertainment filed 16 separate copyright infringement lawsuits (read two of them here and here) this week against vendors who sell “counterfeit product” DVDs on Amazon Marketplace. From the Harry Potter movies to TV series like The Wire, The Sorpranos, Game of Thrones, One Tree Hill, and Hung, the company alleges “the Defendants have distributed, advertised and/or sold and continue to copy, reproduce, distribute, advertise and/or sell unauthorized copies of motion pictures owned by Warner Bros.” Amazon is not listed as a defendant in any of the nearly identical actions. Read More »
‘Happy Days’ & CBS Merchandise Trial Set For July 17
Happy Days’ Mrs. C., Joanie, Potsie and Ralph will get their day in court July 17. Judge Elizabeth Allen White today denied a motion from CBS to dismiss a merchandise lawsuit from the actors from the iconic 1970s show. Marion Ross, Erin Moran, Anson Williams and Don Most, plus the widow of Tom Bosley, say the series’ distributor owes them money and have sued for $10 million. Henry Winkler and Ron Howard, who played the Fonz and Ritchie Cunningham on the series, are not a part of the suit. After starting off being about slot machines and fraud, the core of the case has become payments from DVD sales. Today, White ruled that she wouldn’t grant CBS’ request for summary judgment because the “defendants have not met their initial burden of showing that plaintiffs are not entitled to merchandising royalties for the use of their likeness on DVD sets sold to consumers.” The jury trial is estimated to last 10 days. A final status conference is set for July 12. Read More »
CAA & Fox Opt To Settle ‘White Collar’ Creator Lawsuit
The case of who created White Collar has ended in a private settlement. “The litigation has been resolved and is in the process of being dismissed,” is all plaintiff Travis Romero’s lawyer Rhett Francisco would tell Deadline … Read More »
Howard Stern’s Lawsuit Against Sirius XM Dismissed
Howard Stern had claimed his employer owned him additional stock awards for exceeding subscriber targets that would have totaled more than $300 million — targets exceeded when Sirius merged with rival XM Satellite Radio. But Judge … Read More »
William Friedkin Sues Paramount & Universal Over ‘Sorcerer’ Rights And Money
Who owns the rights to Sorcerer and how much money has the 1977 thriller made? That’s what William Friedkin has asked the court to find out for him. In a five-page civil complaint filed today in LA Superior Court, … Read More »
CBS Television Distribution Charged In Lawsuit For Sex Discrimination
Freelance journalist Dominic Patten is a Deadline contributor
UPDATE, 7:50 PM: ”We haven’t seen the complaint and can’t comment on the specifics,” a CBS spokesperson told Deadline, “but the claim as we understand it is without merit and will be vigorously defended.”
PREVIOUS: CBS is being sued for sexual discrimination by man who says he was told the network had to hire a woman for the position.
The lawyer for Daysun Perkins filed a 12-page civil suit against CBS Corporation and CBS Television Distribution today in LA County Superior Court. According to the suit, Aaron Meyerson told him in March 2011 that he “would not be hired” for the position of VP of Development because of his gender. “I gotta go girl,” Perkins’ suit claims Meyerson, who is President of Programming and Development at CBS TV Distribution, said. “This job is not worth getting a sex change over.” Read More »
Lionsgate A Victim of Fraud, FBI Charges
This was a busy weekend for Lionsgate. The Santa Monica-based company enjoyed the rare position of opening a blockbuster film in The Hunger Games and the hit return of its flagship series Mad Men. But also, agents from … Read More »
JPMorgan Chase Offers Settlement In AFTRA Suit Over Hedge Fund Losses
Freelance writer Dominic Patten is a Deadline contributor
JPMorgan Chase has potentially settled for $150 million with the AFTRA retirement fund and others to cover losses from toxic hedge fund investments. Lawyers for AFTRA and other plaintiffs in the case against the bank’s Sigma Finance fund called the proposed deal “fair, … Read More »
SAG-AFTRA Lawsuit: March 26 Hearing Canceled
Freelance writer Dominic Patten is a Deadline contributor
Judge James Otero sent out an order today cancelling the March 26 hearing in the lawsuit filed by Martin Sheen, Ed Harris, Diane Ladd and others asking to render the … Read More »
Does Charlie Rose Exploit Interns?
That’s the central allegation in a class action suit filed today at the New York State Supreme Court. Former intern Lucy Bickerton — who worked at PBS‘ The Charlie Rose Show in summer 2007 – says the program “operates on an annual budget of approximately $3.5 million, which is low for a television program airing five nights per week.” Interns allegedly pick up the slack. They “perform background research from print and online sources to prepare Mr. Rose for guest interviews, escort guests through the studio and set, and break down the set and clean up the ‘green room’ ” after tapings. The problem: Under New York law, the suit says, “an unpaid internship is only lawful in the context of an educational training program, when the interns do not perform productive work and the employer derives no benefit.” But the suit says that Rose “did not provide academic or vocational training” to interns including Bickerton, who’s said to have regularly worked two to three days a week for a total of about 25 hours a week. As a result, Rose “denied them the benefits Read More »
‘The Godfather’ Author Mario Puzo’s Lawyer Ready To Go To Mattresses Over Ownership Of Mob Classic
UPDATE: Paramount has responded to the charges leveled by the estate of The Godfather author Mario Puzo. Said a spokesperson: “Paramount has tremendous respect and admiration for Mario Puzo and his legacy. We are … Read More »
High Cost of Movie Snacks Prompts Suit
A movie fan in Michigan is mad as hell and isn’t going to eat it anymore. Joshua Thompson, from Livonia, Mich., has translated the usually silent outrage and frustration of most moviegoers who can’t believe they’re paying $5 … Read More »
Suit Alleges Netflix Execs Cashed In While Misleading Investors About Company Woes
Shareholders often sue companies when their stock plummets — so it isn’t surprising to see one against Netflix: It lost 67% of its value since mid-July when it hiked its price by 60% for customers who want to stream videos … Read More »
HFPA: Start TV Rights Trial Just Before Golden Globes Telecast
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has asked a federal judge to set a trial date for the beginning of January to determine who owns broadcast rights to its Golden Globe awards show — just before the 2012 Globes airs on … Read More »
Amazon: IMDb Ageism Lawsuit “Frivolous”
Actress Sues Amazon For Showing Her Age On Industry Database IMDb
Amazon has asked a U.S. judge to throw out a $1 million lawsuit brought last month by an actress who was complained that her age was revealed without her … Read More »
Julie Taymor Sues Producers Of Broadway’s ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark’
Back in March, the official release outlining the retooling of the massive and plagued Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark touted a new direction and a new director to replace Julie Taymor. And when the revamp finally made … Read More »
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