Category: Lawsuits

Warner eyes cuts, “Watchmen” talks proceed
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ñ Warner Bros is considering ways to slash its budget by 10 percent, saving tens of millions of dollars via layoffs or other steps, as the studio nears an expected settlement of a dispute with a rival house over its upcoming “Watchmen” film.
Warner joins rivals from Sony Corp’s Sony Pictures to Walt Disney Co in trying to offset falling film and flat DVD revenues in a rocky U.S. economy.
“No decisions have been made,” said a Warner Bros spokesman regarding the cost cuts, which are widely expected to result in an unspecified number of layoffs at the studio, which released the blockbuster Batman movie, “The Dark Knight.”
Warner Bros is owned by Time Warner Inc, which last week projected a loss for the year, compared with a previous forecast of earnings of $1.04 to $1.07 per share.
Meanwhile, another drama continues to unfold with Warner’s upcoming high-profile release of “Watchmen,” which is the focus of a copyright infringement battle between Warner and News Corp’s Twentieth Century Fox.
The two studios began negotiating last week and are expected to announce a settlement soon, enabling Warner to release the film in March as scheduled.
Both Fox and Warner said on Tuesday settlement talks were continuing, with one studio executive describing them as “fruitful.”
Warner Bros produced the movie based on a 1980s comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons about superheroes operating under the specter of nuclear annihilation.
But Fox, which acquired the rights to the “Watchmen” story in 1986, claims it has a continuing stake in the film, and U.S. District Judge Gary Feess last month ruled that the studio owned “at the very least, a distribution right” in the film.
Because of the settlement talks, Feess — presiding over the copyright dispute — delayed a decision on Friday on whether or not to move up a January 20 hearing.
Warner’s filmed entertainment group’s revenue in the third quarter, which ended in September, fell 9 percent to $2.88 billion. The expected cost cuts at the studio falls in line with similar actions at various other entertainment companies.
The film studio, which produced the hit “The Dark Knight,” cut production last year and streamlined its operations by eliminating various units like Warner Independent and absorbing New Line Cinema.

Studios in settlement talks over “Watchmen” film
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ñ Attorneys for two studios fighting over the upcoming superhero movie “Watchmen” told a judge on Friday they were in settlement talks, sources said.
U.S. District Judge Gary Feess, presiding over the copyright dispute between Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. and News Corp’s Twentieth Century Fox, was expected on Friday to rule on whether to move up a January 20 hearing on the movie’s planned March 6 release.
But with the attorneys saying they were in talks, Feess delayed his decision on whether to move up the hearing. If there is no settlement, a new date could be set next week.
Warner Bros. produced the movie based on a 1980s comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons about superheroes operating under the specter of nuclear annihilation.
But Fox, which acquired the rights to the “Watchmen” story in 1986, claims it has a continuing stake in the film, and Feess last month ruled that the studio owned “at the very least, a distribution right” in the film.

Fox says it will try to stop ‘Watchmen’
LOS ANGELES ñ An attorney for 20th Century Fox says the studio will press its case to delay the release of “Watchmen,” but a rival studio says it plans to release the film as scheduled.
U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess last week agreed with Fox that Warner Bros. had infringed its copyright by developing and shooting the superhero flick, casting some doubt on its March 6 release date.
Feess said Monday he plans to hold a trial Jan. 20 to decide remaining issues.
Fox claims it never fully relinquished story rights for the graphic novel from its deal made in the late 1980s, and sued Warner Bros. in February. Warner Bros. contended Fox isn’t entitled to distribution.
Warner Bros. said in a statement released Monday afternoon that it won’t move the movie’s release date and still thinks it will win the case, either at trial or through an appeal.

Fox wins ruling on Watchmen
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that 20th Century Fox owns a copyright interest in Watchmen, which may jeopardize Warner Bros.’s plan to release the superhero movie in March.
Judge Gary Allen Feess issued the surprise ruling on Wednesday, Variety reported.
“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture,” the ruling said.
Judge Feess advised both Fox and Warner to consider either a settlement or an appeal.
Fox acquired rights to the Watchmen graphic adventure novel in the late 1980s for producer Lawrence Gordon. After spending more than $1 million US developing the project, it eventually dropped its plan to make a movie based on the work written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.
Gordon later carried out the project with Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. The movie, about the underside of life for superbeings, was directed by Zack Snyder and stars Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earle Haley. Its release is scheduled for March 6, 2009.
In February, Fox filed a suit to prevent Watchmen from being released. It argued that Gordon’s option to acquire Fox’s remaining interest in Watchmen was never exercised.
Warner spokesman Scott Rowe has declined to comment on the ruling.
The Wall Street Journal says the ruling in favour of Fox comes as a surprise, “given that the studio appeared to have dropped the project more than a decade ago and was not involved in producing the film.”

Dixie Chick sued for defamation
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines is the target of a defamation lawsuit by the stepfather of one of three eight-year-old boys slain in 1993.
Maines spoke out for three people convicted of the slayings and alleged the stepfather was instead involved in the killings.
Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Steve Branch, who was killed in 1993 with Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, filed suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Nov. 25. The suit names all three members of the Dixie Chicks, but focuses on Maines.
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Hobbs claims he suffered loss of income, injury to his reputation and emotional distress.
Maines attended a Dec. 19 rally in Little Rock, where she claimed Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley – known to sympathizers as the “West Memphis Three” – were innocent and supposed new evidence pointed to Hobbs. Her comments echoed a Nov. 26, 2007, letter that was still on the Dixie Chicks’ website Thursday, in which she claimed new DNA testing of hair from the crime scene linked Hobbs to the killings and his behaviour after the slayings indicated his guilt.
The lawsuit says the claim is false.
Hobbs told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper in a Feb. 1 interview his reputation is in tatters and he wants to clear his name.
“I want people to know I haven’t done nothing wrong,” Hobbs said.
“I want them to hear it from me.”
No lawyer for Maines was listed in court filings and a publicist didn’t immediately return a call for comment. Hobbs’ lawyer, J. Cody Hiland, didn’t immediately return a call for comment Thursday.
The lawsuit says Maines’ statements were “so extreme in degree as to be beyond the pale of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society.”
Assertions similar to those made by Maines were also made by lawyers seeking new trials for the three convicts.
The boys’ bodies were found by police a day after they vanished from their quiet, tree-lined neighbourhood May 5, 1993. Police arrested the three after a confession by Misskelley in which he described how he watched Baldwin and Echols sexually assault and beat two of the boys as he ran down another trying to escape. A jury gave Misskelley a life-plus-40-year sentence for the killings. A later jury gave Baldwin a life sentence without parole. Echols, then 19, the oldest of the three, received the death penalty.
The Arkansas Supreme Court later upheld the convictions but a later documentary sparked interest on the Internet, as well as among celebrities, including Maines, who felt the teens were railroaded by police for their interest in heavy metal music and the occult. Supporters say they raised more than $1 million for a legal defence fund for the three, enough to pay for lawyers, new DNA testing and a second federal appeal on behalf of Echols.
A judge has since denied defence motions for a new trial.

O.J. Simpson sentenced to at least 15 years
LAS VEGAS ñ A broken O.J. Simpson was sentenced Friday to at least 15 years in prison for a hotel armed robbery after a judge rejected his apology and said, “It was much more than stupidity.”
The 61-year-old football Hall of Famer stood shackled and stone-faced when Judge Jackie Glass quickly rattled off his punishment soon after he made a rambling, five-minute plea for leniency, choking back tears as he told her: “I didn’t want to steal anything from anyone. … I’m sorry, sorry.”
The judge said several times that her sentence in the Las Vegas case had nothing to do with Simpson’s 1994 acquittal in the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
“I’m not here to try and cause any retribution or any payback for anything else,” Glass said.
Simpson was immediately led away to prison after the judge refused to permit him to go free on bail while he appeals.
Simpson’s co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence “C.J. Stewart, also was sentenced to at least 15 years.
Outside court, Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, and sister, Kim, said they were thrilled with the sentence.
“There’s never closure. Ron is always gone. What we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs behind bars,” Fred Goldman said.

BNL’s frontman avoids jail time
FAYETTEVILLE, N.Y. – Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page apologized to his fans, friends and family Tuesday and expressed gratitude to those who secured a deal that will result in an acquittal on drug possession charges as long as he stays out of trouble for six months.
Extensive negotiations between the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office and lawyers for Page, his girlfriend Christine Benedicto and her roommate Stephanie Ford resulted in a “very favourable” deal for the trio, said Judge Thomas Miller.
All three received a so-called “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal” ruling, which means the charges against them will be dismissed in six months time if they aren’t arrested again, receive therapy and pass drug screening, Miller said.
Page, 38, Benedicto and Ford were charged with drug possession in July after police found cocaine at a Fayetteville apartment. Benedicto was 27 at the time of the arrests, while Ford was 25.
After the court hearing, a calm, stern-looking Page read a statement to the media and said he hopes to prove himself to be a productive and law-abiding member of society.
“The respect and responsibility I have earned over the course of my life and my career thus far are important to me and I am moving forward from this with gratitude and with hope,” Page said.
“I also apologize to all of those I have hurt or embarrassed during this episode.”
When asked what he learned from the experience, Page declined to answer any questions.
He also expressed thanks for the support he received in the difficulty times after his arrest went public and the media scrutinized every detail of his case.
Almost a dozen TV cameras from Canadian and American networks were in the small-town court to cover the case on Tuesday.
“It has meant a great deal to me to be shown the impact I have on others’ lives,” he said.
“From people on the street who’ve stopped me to share their support and encouragement, to those friends and loved ones closest to me who’ve opened their homes and their hearts, I am deeply moved and thankful. The greatest gift a person can know is to not go through their life alone and I am fortunate enough to have been afforded that gift.”
Page’s lawyer, Mark Mahoney, said the ruling the co-accuseds received is common in New York state and he’s confident they will escape from the incident with an unblemished record.
“We are very appreciative of the fact the district attorney’s office… was sensitive to the fact that this was simply a charge of possession, everyone has a clean record and the exemplary performance of all the accused since the time of the arrest,” he said.
The deal also means Page will have no problems crossing the border into the United States and his case won’t affect his band’s future, Mahoney added.
Page’s arrest came just months after Barenaked Ladies released an album of children’s music called “Snacktime.”
Police in Fayetteville said the arrests were made after they spotted a suspiciously parked car with its driver-side door open. They knocked on the door of the apartment where the car was parked and were invited inside by Page and Ford.
Ford said in a statement to police filed with the court that she and Page had snorted a white powder she assumed to be cocaine using a rolled-up Canadian bill.
A separate court document says Page told police: “Yeah, it’s cocaine.”
Page pleaded not guilty and on Tuesday, Mahoney said his charges had been reduced from felonies to misdemeanours after laboratory analysis of the white powder revealed it to be a low quantity and quality of cocaine.
After Page’s arrest, Barenaked Ladies cancelled an appearance at a children’s benefit concert organized by Disney in Long Island, N.Y.
Recently, the band announced two concerts for kids and three Christmas-themed shows in Toronto and Ottawa in December.
Born in Toronto, Page met Barenaked Ladies bandmate Ed Robertson in school. In the late 1980s, the pair began performing acoustic sets injected with humour at various university campuses.
They were eventually joined by other band members – including Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn.
Their hits have included “If I Had A Million Dollars,” “Brian Wilson” and “The Old Apartment.”
Last year, Page reportedly separated from his wife of almost 15 years. The couple have three children.

BNL star’s day in court delayed
TORONTO – The next U.S. court appearance for Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page on drug possession charges has been delayed.
Page was due to appear in court in Fayetteville, N.Y., on Oct. 14 but his Buffalo-based lawyer says the case will resume on Oct. 28. Mark Mahoney says there’s an dialogue ongoing with the district attorney’s office on how the case could be resolved.
He says it’s taking some time because there are three defendants and three lawyers involved.
Page was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on July 11.
Court documents allege Page admitted to snorting cocaine in his girlfriend’s upstate New York apartment last month.
Page was taken into police custody, but was later released after posting $10,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 5 1/2 years in prison.

Blogger arrested over leaked Chinese Democracy tracks
U.S. federal authorities have arrested a Los Angeles-area blogger accused of posting leaked tracks from the forthcoming Guns N’ Roses album online.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said its agents arrested 27-year-old Kevin Cogill, operator of the Antiquiet blog, on Wednesday morning on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws.
Cogill posted nine tracks from the long-awaited Chinese Democracy album on his site in June, but removed them shortly afterward, according to an arrest affidavit.
The website received so many hits that it crashed.
In the past, the band’s eccentric frontman Axl Rose has said that Chinese Democracy is complete. Its release is expected this fall, about 14 years since the last Guns N’ Roses album.
In July, video game developers Harmonix and MTV Games announced that Shacklers’ Revenge, a track from Chinese Democracy, would debut on its much-anticipated title Rock Band 2 this fall.

Doomsday for The Watchmen?
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Who will watch The Watchmen? Nobody, if 20th Century Fox gets its way.
After a major court victory, the studio has announced a bid to block the release of Warner Bros.’ anticipated adaptation of the seminal graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Fox originally tried to develop the project more than a decade ago, but didn’t manage to get the film off the drawing board. The studio claims Warners never properly acquired the rights to The Watchmen, and, in a major twist, instead of seeking a share of the would-be blockbuster’s box-office gross, Fox is seeking to kill the flick entirely before it unspools in theaters March 6.
Cue the agonized cries of fanboys everywhere.
A federal judge in Los Angeles agreed with Fox lawyers that there’s enough evidence to keep the lawsuit going forwardóand keep the film’s release in limbo.
Directed by 300 helmer Zack Snyder, The Watchmen stars Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley as a band of former superheroes who find themselves reclassified as criminal vigilantes in an alternate universe circa 1985. As an unknown assassin begins to hunt them down, the heroes try to unravel a conspiracy and thwart a nuclear war.
The film’s trailer wowed Comic-Con attendees last month, stirring big buzz for a film that many thought would never get made.
Per its complaint, Fox traces its distribution rights through a series of complex legal agreements that began in 1991, when the studio teamed up with veteran producer Larry Gordon to develop the DC Comics graphic novel.
The project stalled and Gordon went packing, leaving Fox, not Gordon, in control of the property, per the suit.
But Gordon resurfaced in 2006 and inked a deal with Warners to try to relaunch Watchmen.
In siding with Fox, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allen Fees said Warners’ legal camp failed to show that Gordon still had a stake in the project.
“Warner Bros.’ production and anticipated release of The Watchmen motion picture violates 20th Century Fox’s long-standing motion picture rights in the Watchmen property,” Fox says in a statement.
“We will be asking the court to enforce Fox’s copyright interests in The Watchmen and enjoin the release of the Warner Bros. film and any related Watchmen media that violate our copyright interests in that property.”
It’s not clear exactly why Fox is asking for an injunction to block The Watchmen from coming out, especially since the film’s already in the can, although it could simply be a ploy to gain a large portion of ticket sales. There’s also no indication why Fox waited so long to bring its case.
Warners, meanwhile, tried to spin the ruling as favorably as possible.
“It is our company’s policy not to comment on pending litigation, and thus will not comment on the specifics of this case,” the studio’s statement reads. “That said, the court’s ruling simply means that the parties will engage in discovery and proceed with the litigation.
“We respectfully disagree with Fox’s position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project.”
Fees has asked the studios to expedite the pretrial wrangling. After all, the film’s release is apporaching and the Doomsday Clock is ticking