Tag: Lawsuits (1-10 of 11)

Nov 20 2012 03:53 PM ET

J.R.R. Tolkien estate suing Warner Bros. for 'Lord of the Rings' casino games, digital merchandise

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Forget orcs. The most fearsome creatures in the Tolkien universe may be lawyers.

The estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien, the man who brought forth all things Middle Earth with the magic tucked inside his pen, has filed suit against Warner Bros., New Line, and the Saul Zaentz Company for copyright infringement and breach of contract, alleging that the studio had gone far beyond the “limited” merchandising rights it holds for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. When the estate sold the film rights to those Tolkien books in 1969, the suit alleges, it only allowed for “the manufacture, sale and distribution of … any and all articles of tangible personal property,” but the suit claims the defendants have “with increasing boldness, engaged in a continuing and escalating pattern of usurping rights to which they are not entitled.”  READ FULL STORY »

Oct 18 2012 04:30 PM ET

Warner Bros. defeats heirs of 'Superman' co-creator in latest legal battle

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Action-Comics

Almost 75 years after Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman, the battle for ownership of the Last Son of Krypton has become an expensive and much-disputed industry unto itself. Four years ago, Siegel’s heirs won a major victory when a judge granted them half of the Superman copyright, at least regarding how Superman appeared in Action Comics #1. As reported by the LA Times, however, Shuster’s heirs have not been so lucky: Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the family of the co-creator could not reclaim a similar 50% stake in the copyright. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 24 2012 01:36 PM ET

Martin Scorsese responds to 'meritless' lawsuit

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Martin-Scorsese

Image Credit: Munawar Hosain/Fotos International/Getty Images

Reps for Martin Scorsese called the  lawsuit filed against the director — which claims breach of written contract, intentional misrepresentation, and negligent misrepresentation around the filming of the movie Silence –  a “meritless action” and believe it has “all the earmarks of a media stunt.”

Below is Scorsese’s full statement in response to the filing:

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 2 2012 12:02 AM ET

'Raging Bull' sequel now 'The Bronx Bull,' no longer a 'Raging Bull' sequel

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raging-bull

Image Credit: Everett Collection

One of the strangest sequel projects in movie history is no longer a sequel. In a joint statement, MGM Studios and Dahlia Waingort, the producer of the film originally known as Raging Bull II, declared on Wednesday that Waingort’s film now has the working title The Bronx Bull, and is in no way associated with Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull.

The announcement resolves a lawsuit brought by MGM in July that attempted to shut down production on the film, which traces the life of boxer Jake LaMotta in the years that span before and after Raging Bull. LaMotta, now 91 years old, has been cooperating with that project, but it otherwise had nothing to do with Scorsese’s film, which won star Robert De Niro an Academy Award. Instead, Boardwalk Empire‘s William Forsythe is playing the older LaMotta, with Mojean Aria playing him as a youth.

Check out the full statement below:  READ FULL STORY »

Jul 5 2012 09:25 AM ET

MGM sues to knock out 'Raging Bull' sequel

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raging-bull

Image Credit: Everett Collection

Attempting a sequel to Raging Bull seems like a thankless task, but making Raging Bull II just got even more complicated. MGM, the studio that owns the rights to Martin Scorsese’s classic 1980 film that won an Oscar for Robert DeNiro’s portrayal of 1950′s middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta, filed a complaint Tuesday against the 91-year-old fighter himself, as well as the production company behind the sequel. Claiming that LaMotta had a contractual obligation to offer them the film rights to his follow-up book, 1986′s Raging Bull II, MGM wants a jury to shut down the in-production project. “LaMotta and the RBII Defendants are publicly associating the Sequel Picture with the [original] in a manner that is plainly calculated to create confusion in the marketplace and to trade off the value of the [original],” MGM’s attorney claimed in their complaint, according to documents posted on Deadline.

Scorsese and DeNiro are not involved in the sequel in any way. William Forsythe (Boardwalk Empire), instead, plays the aging LaMotta and Mojean Aria plays him as a younger man. Cloris Leachman, Penelope Ann Miller, Joe Mantagne, Tom Sizemore, and Paul Sorvina are also set to star.

Read more:
Martin Scorsese on the ‘Raging Bull’ sequel

Mar 30 2012 01:00 PM ET

'Human Centipede 3': Director Tom Six's company threatens to sue star Dieter Laser

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tom-six

Image Credit: Ian West/AP

Human Centipede star Dieter Laser might have to put his money where his mouth is. The gross-out franchise’s director Tom Six (pictured), through his company Six Entertainment, is threatening to sue the star of The Human Centipede and The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) for breach of contract.

“Because of the success of The Human Centipede, it seems that Mr. Dieter Laser’s ego has grown to laughably big proportions,” said producer (and Tom’s sister) Ilona Six in a statement. She continued that Laser “demand[ed] his own unacceptable script changes” and backed out of the role “only seven weeks prior to shooting.”

Bad news for Centipede fans: The suit will delay production on The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence), which was supposed to begin in May or June. Now principal photography will be pushed back until the fall. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 19 2011 11:02 PM ET

Acting professor sues NYU claiming he was fired for giving James Franco a 'D'

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James-Franco

Image Credit: Eric Charbonneau/WireImage.com

James Franco’s multi-pronged academic pursuits have been well-documented over the past few years, and one of the common refrains has been awe and disbelief that the actor could manage to squeeze in all the necessary course work while also taking time to shoot movies like 127 Hours and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Well, according to one former NYU professor, Franco’s secret was not coming to class much at all.

Jose Angel Santana is reportedly suing the university for wrongful termination, discrimination, and harassment, alleging that when he gave Franco a “D” in Directing the Actor II for missing 12 out of 14 classes, he was demoted, systematically isolated from the university, and eventually denied reappointment. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 5 2011 04:58 PM ET

Angelina Jolie sued for copyright infringement over her directorial debut

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Image Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com

In the Land of Blood and Honey is Angelina Jolie’s directorial/screenwriting debut. Unfortunately it’s also cast her in another new role: defendant. On Dec. 2, papers were filed in Illinois suing Jolie and the producers of the film for copyright infringement.

James J. Braddock, a Croatian journalist, maintains that the movie — due in theaters Dec. 23 — takes its plot from his book, The Soul Shattering, which was published in 2007. The lawsuit maintains that Braddock met with co-defendant Edin Sarkic (a producer on the film) three different times in 2008 and that The Soul Shattering and the finished film share the following similarities (SPOILER ALERT, for those who hope to see the film): READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2011 11:12 PM ET

Paramount sued by investor group that co-financed nearly 30 films, including 'Transformers'

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In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, the New York investor group Melrose 2 claimed that Paramount Pictures had deliberately inflated losses and underreported revenues to Melrose 2, which invested nearly $375 million in 29 Paramount and DreamWorks films including the Transformers series, Mission: Impossible III, and Dreamgirls. In 2006, Melrose 2 and Paramount entered into an agreement, with the former co-financing the studio’s movies in exchange for a copyright interest in the films. But in the five years since the agreement was signed, Melrose 2 alleges to have not received any profits from its investment. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2011 02:26 PM ET

Jesse Eisenberg isn't the star of 'Camp Hell,' and is suing to prove it

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Last week, The Social Network and Zombieland star Jesse Eisenberg filed a lawsuit against Lionsgate and Grindstone Entertainment, distributors of the low-budget horror film Camp Hell, for falsely advertising that he’s the film’s leading man to capitalize on his newfound fame and popularity. Per the suit, Eisenberg agreed to shoot a small cameo for longtime friends producing the picture in 2007, but only worked one day, for a paycheck of roughly $3,000 and less than five minutes of screen time. “Eisenberg is bringing this lawsuit in order to warn his fans and the public that, contrary to the manner in which Defendants are advertising the film, Eisenberg is not the star of and does not appear in a prominent role in Camp Hell, but instead has a cameo role in Camp Hell,” the suit says. It then, of course, points out the large photo of Eisenberg gracing the DVD jacket and the way his name appears above the title. I am not a judge, but as someone who’s bought DVDs for years, I would assume that Eisenberg was the leading man (and filmed this well before he got his Oscar nomination). READ FULL STORY »

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