Shake-up for Cdn. book industry
TORONTO - Canada's book industry is facing a major shake-up with news that a new company will handle some subsidiary rights deals for at least two major publishers, which will result in layoffs.
Random House of Canada and McClelland and Stewart both announced Tuesday that they've inked deals with the Cooke Agency International, a new offshoot of the Cooke Agency, a team of Toronto-based literary representatives working for more than 100 authors.
Both deals involve contracting out work on foreign subsidiary rights, permissions, and domestic book club sales to the Cooke Agency, which will eliminate departments in both publishing companies.
Random House said it could no longer justifying maintaining its subsidiary rights department, which seeks foreign-rights sales for a limited catalogue of titles.
Three employees were laid off: Jennifer Shepherd, vice president and director of rights and contracts; Ron Eckel, rights associate director; and Fiona Harvey, domestic rights associate.
Two McClelland and Stewart employees were laid off: Marilyn Biderman, vice president and director of rights and contracts; and Krista Willis, rights manager.
In a release, Cooke Agency president and co-owner Dean Cooke said the creation of the new company to work on behalf of Canadian publishers will allow rights agreements to be reached in a "more efficient and effective way."
"In speaking to various publishers, it is clear that there are challenges in maintaining a foreign rights business, and that changes were imminent in the way publishers handle this business," he said.
"We're all getting on the same planes to go to the same places to sell a handful of titles. This is an area where success and strength can best be leveraged by a list of titles with greater range and depth."
'Saturday Night Live' subtracts after it adds
The two new hires "Saturday Night Live" made last week won't end up making the cast any bigger after all.
NBC's late-night comedy show added two new female performers, Nasim Pedrad and Jenny Slate, to its cast last week, but we now know that their addition came at the expense of two people who were with the show last year: Michaela Watkins and Casey Wilson. That means the cast will stay at 13 people, with four women -- Pedrad, Slate and returnees Kristen Wiig and Abby Elliott.
As was the case with the hirings of Slate and Pedrad, The Comic's Comic was first with the news about the firings of Wilson, who joined "SNL" in February 2008, and Watkins, who came aboard last November. In an e-mail to the site, Watkins says her tenure on the show, while brief, was "awesome."
"I will say to you now, though, that I had a GREAT time there. Met some of the most truly talented and fantastic people, had the most exciting job and I honestly can say I don't have any regrets I can think of right now," she says. "Although it seems kinda crazy right now, this may shake out to make sense to everyone. ['SNL' executive producer] Lorne [Michaels] isn't known for indulging in any lip-service, and I feel very encouraged by his words last week. I'm working on something I'm very excited about now, so ... the journey continues, and I feel so lucky I got to stop off at 30 Rock. It was awesome."
"Saturday Night Live" begins its season Sept. 26 with host Megan Fox and musical guest U2.
Tolkien estate, New Line settle lawsuit over films
LOS ANGELES – The heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien and a movie studio that produced the blockbuster "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy have settled a lawsuit over the films' profits, it was announced Tuesday.
The out-of-court resolution clears the way for a two-film prequel based on Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit" and will benefit charities around the world, according to a joint press release announcing the settlement.
The lawsuit had sought to rescind New Line Cinema's rights to make films based on the book.
Tolkien's heirs sued New Line Cinema in February 2008, claiming the studio owed it millions in profits from the movies released between 2001 and 2003. The films earned an estimated $6 billion in sales of movie tickets, DVDs and merchandise.
No settlement paperwork has yet been filed with a Los Angeles court. The terms of the deal are being kept confidential.
"We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us," said Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Warner Bros. acquired New Line in March 2008.
One of the main beneficiaries of the settlement is The Tolkien Trust, a British charity that supports causes around the world.
Christopher Tolkien, one of the author's trustees, said the lawsuit was regrettable, but the estate is "glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow The Tolkien Trust to properly pursue its charitable objectives."
Bonnie Eskenazi, an attorney who handled the lawsuit for the Tolkien estate, said the settlement vindicated the heirs and will touch more than just movie audiences.
The lawsuit claimed Tolkien's trust received only an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began but was due 7.5 percent of the gross receipts.
Peter Jackson, who directed "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, will serve as executive producer on "The Hobbit" films. The prequels have already endured a legal path as treacherous as the story's trek by hobbit Bilbo Baggins to the Lonely Mountain.
Jackson and New Line feuded for a year over the trilogy's profits before reaching an agreement in 2007 that cleared the way for work on "The Hobbit."
The two prequels will be directed by Guillermo del Toro, who directed the two "Hellboy" movies and "Pan's Labyrinth."