July 29, 2011
Polanski’s ‘Carnage’ to open New York Film Fest
Jake Coyle, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Roman Polanski’s “Carnage” will open this year’s New York Film Festival.
The film is adapted from Yasmina Reza’s 2009 Tony Award-winning play “God of Carnage.” Shot in Paris earlier this year, it stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly.
It’s Polanski’s first film since being freed last year from house arrest in Switzerland. After arresting him, the Swiss government released the 77-year-old, rejecting a request to extradite him to the United States.
He still faces an Interpol warrant in effect for 188 countries for a 1977 child sex case in California.
Polanski isn’t expected to attend the New York gala.
The play “God of Carnage” is about a degenerating evening between two couples meeting after their kids were involved in a playground fight. Like the Broadway production, the film is set in Brooklyn. The original play was in French and set in Paris.
Richard Pena, selection committee chairman and program director, calls the film “a new pinnacle” for the director. Polanski’s directorial debut, “Knife in the Water,” screened at the first New York Film Festival.
“Carnage” will first premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. Sony Pictures Classic will release “Carnage” later this year.
The 49th annual New York Film festival runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 16. Online: http://www.filmlinc.com
NY judge: Marvel wins Spider-Man, X-Men lawsuitLarry Neumeister
NEW YORK (AP) – Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk can save the world from evil through superhuman feats, but it took a federal judge Thursday to decide who legally owns the rights to their lucrative characters.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that they and other Marvel Worldwide Inc. superheroes will remain the property of the company, despite claims by heirs to the artist who played a key role in creating them that they are entitled to the copyrights.
The Manhattan judge cited statements made by artist Jack Kirby before his 1994 death to support her finding that his creations must remain Marvel’s property.
She noted that he said in a 1986 affidavit that he did his work at a time when it was common practice that vested ownership of his creations belonged to the company that paid him to draw. She said he also signed a written agreement in the spring of 1972, well after the creation of the characters, admitting that he was not entitled to retain ownership of the work.
Marvel filed a federal lawsuit in January 2010 seeking to invalidate 45 notices sent by Kirby’s heirs to try to terminate Marvel’s copyrights, effective on dates ranging from 2014 through 2019. The comics were published between 1958 and 1963. Those at issue in the case included The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, Spider-Man, Iron Man, The X-Men, The Avengers, Ant-Man, Nick Fury and The Rawhide Kid.
Marvel had said the work was done “for hire,” a legal term that would render the heirs’ claims invalid. McMahon said the plain language of contracts she reviewed made it clear that all of Kirby’s work for publications owned by Marvel was work for hire. She said the 1909 copyright law that applies to the case presumed that Marvel was considered the author and owner of Kirby’s creations because the characters were made at Marvel’s expense.
McMahon said the case had parallels to one involving a book about Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s account of World War II. A federal appeals court concluded in that case that the book was created at the expense of the publisher and thus was a work for hire.
“Like Eisenhower, Kirby took on none of the risks of the success of the many comic books he helped produce. His contribution to the enterprise was plainly critical, but Marvel, not he, bore the risk of its failure,” she wrote.
A lawyer for the Kirby family did not immediately return a telephone call for comment. Kirby is survived by his wife and their four children.
In a statement, The Walt Disney Co., which purchased Marvel in 2009, said: “We are pleased that in this case, the judge has confirmed Marvel’s ownership.”
Oscar-nominated art director Polly Platt dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Polly Platt, who was nominated for an Oscar for art direction for “Terms of Endearment” and went on to produce several successful films, has died. She was 72.
Sashy Bogdanovich says her mother died Wednesday in New York of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Platt starting working in movies with her husband, writer-director Peter Bogdanovich.
She continued in film after the couple divorced in 1971 and went on to produce “Broadcast News,” ”War of the Roses” and “Say Anything” through a long collaboration with James L. Brooks and Gracie Films.
Platt was born in Fort Sheridan, Ill., in 1939. She studied art at Carnegie Mellon University before moving to New York, where she met Bogdanovich while working as a set designer.
She is survived by two daughters and three grandsons.
Hollywood studios win UK case to block pirate siteLONDON (AP) – Hollywood film studios have won a court case in Britain blocking access to a website accused of flagrant infringement of copyright.
Justice Richard Arnold announced Thursday that he would issue an order which would compel BT PLC, the country’s largest Internet service provider, to block access to the Newzbin2 website. The precise wording of the order will be subject to a further hearing in October.
The order was sought by six studios including Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures Corporation and Disney Enterprises. They were supported by recorded music, video gaming and publishing organizations.
Chris Marcich, European president of the Motion Picture Association, described Newzbin as a “a notorious pirate website which makes hundreds of thousands of copyrighted products available without permission and with no regard for the law.”
The judge noted that the studios considered this to be a test case, and that if they won an order they would take similar action against other Internet service providers in the United Kingdom.
“Today’s result is an important victory in the battle against a commercial pirate site which refused to operate within the law,” said veteran film producer David Puttnam, who is president of the Film Distributors’ Association.
BT described the judge’s ruling as a “helpful” decision that provides clarity on the issues. “It clearly shows that rights holders need to prove their claims and convince a judge to make a court order,” the company said.
The studios had won an injunction last year against Newzbin Ltd. to halt further infringement of copyrights.
Justice Arnold noted that the Newzbin1 site closed down, quickly succeeded by a new site at the same location.
“The operators of the Newzbin2 website are unknown, but the operation appears to have moved offshore. It is thus effectively beyond the reach of this court,” the judge said.
Pesci sues over Gotti biopic role; claims disputedAnthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Joe Pesci claims the makers of a biopic on the Gotti family have made him an offer he can refuse – a lesser part in the movie and a $2 million salary cut.
The actor sued Fiore Films on Wednesday, seeking the $3 million he said he was promised to play the role of a childhood friend and enforcer of crime boss John Gotti Sr.
Pesci claims the company used his name and likeness to promote the movie and attract investors, but now doesn’t want to honor its original offer to him. He has been offered a lesser role for a $1 million payday, the lawsuit stated.
Fiore CEO Marc Fiore rejected the claims, saying he received correspondence months ago from the actor’s representatives telling him Pesci was pulling out of the project until the original director, who left the project, was replaced. “Before we had a deal, Mr. Pesci walked away,” Fiore said.
Pesci’s attorney Brandon Tesser called Fiore’s statement false, saying no one informed Pesci of a reduced role until recently. The actor’s lawsuit stated Pesci gained 30 pounds to play the role of a trusted Gotti Sr. adviser, Angelo Ruggiero.
Pesci cited his roles in mobster films such as “Casino” and his Oscar-winning role in “Goodfellas,” and his lawsuit said he was fully committed to playing Ruggiero in “Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father.”
The movie focuses on the experiences of John Gotti Jr., who has rejected his mob ties.
Pesci had been named as a prominent cast member in the film alongside John Travolta, who is scheduled to play Gotti Sr., Al Pacino and Kelly Preston. The actor’s role was announced at an April press conference. His lawsuit said that helped lend the film credibility, garnered it publicity and helped attract investors and other actors.
Shortly after the announcement, director Nick Cassavetes withdrew from the film.
Fiore said Pesci’s representatives then told him that the actor didn’t want to discuss anything with filmmakers until a new director was chosen. He said that he had tried to work out a deal with Pesci’s New York attorney and that he and new director Barry Levinson had reached out to the actor recently, but the efforts were rebuffed.
Tesser said Fiore was welcome to contact him to try to resolve the matter, but it was clear that there was an agreement for Pesci to star in the Gotti film.
Pesci’s lawsuit claimed that a written contract was never signed, but that Fiore’s actions in announcing his name at the press conference and in other promotional materials made it clear that an agreement had been reached. The agreement called for Pesci to be paid $3 million provided he was willing and able to act in the film.
“Defendant has no intention of paying (Pesci) $3 million or having him portray Ruggiero in the film,” the lawsuit claims. “Rather, plaintiff secretly planned to use (Pesci’s) name and likeness to promote the film and then to later concoct some pretext for terminating the contract so as to avoid paying plaintiff anything for the substantial publicity and ‘buzz’ that was generated.”
Fiore said agreements had been reached with most of the other high-profile actors, including Travolta, Pacino and Preston. Shooting on the film was scheduled to begin on Jan. 3.
He predicted a tough fight for the Pesci case, saying he may countersue the actor. “He’s wasting his time and everybody else’s time,” Fiore said.
“I might be a newbie in town,” he said. “This newbie is not going to get bulled around.”
Belafonte: Hollywood won’t yield to those of color
Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Harry Belafonte says Hollywood has yet to explore the breadth of black experience and that the industry will “never ever yield to the needs of people of color.”
The 84-year-old entertainer made the remarks at a presentation on artists and activism held Wednesday during the 102nd annual National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Convention.
Louis Gossett Jr., Tatyana Ali, Hill Harper and members of the Black Stuntmen’s Association appeared alongside Belafonte at the panel discussion. He urged the NAACP to form a group of artists and thinkers to inspire the kind of “radical thought” necessary for change, and he called on black actors and filmmakers to “come together and create some institutional base that’s ours.”
“It seems to me that long ago we could have put together black studios, put together a black distribution center,” Belafonte said. “Maybe we couldn’t reach 100 million, but we could reach 100,000, and have 100,000 exposed to a great truth. I’d rather have that than 100 million exposed to something vacuous and inaccurate.”
Belafonte said that “in pursuit of ego, in pursuit of large, ridiculous sums of money, we have sold our birthright that somehow we are more victim than we are responsible.”
Though he was the most outspoken of the panelists, the other actors agreed that black artists and consumers are responsible for changing the way the entertainment industry represents people of color.
“It’s very hard to find roles that I can be proud of,” said Ali, 32. “The archetypes for black women specifically have not fully been explored.”
Alex Brown and Willis Harris, representing the Black Stuntmen’s Association, talked about their experience fighting for change: They created the BSA in 1966 to end the exclusion of black stunt performers from Hollywood productions. Until then, white stuntmen were “painted” to perform stunts for black actors.
The performers all said that activism and education are essential to advancement in Hollywood. Belafonte said “radical thought” is critical.
“You’re not going to find solutions until you’re willing to embrace radical thought,” he said. “Every time black people moved ahead in the history of this country is because somewhere in this nation, a group of people dared to think radically and do radical things.”
The six-day NAACP Convention ends Thursday.
Study: 1/2 of Netflix users watch via game console
Jake Coyle, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – According to a new Nielsen survey, half of all Netflix users connect to the video streaming service via gaming console.
The study, conducted in 12,000 online interviews in March, researched viewing habits among Netflix and Hulu users. Nielsen found that more Netflix users are watching video on their TVs than their computers, often connecting through consoles such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 or Microsoft’s Xbox.
Conversely, Nielsen found that the wide majority of Hulu users, 89 percent, watch Hulu on a computer.
Nearly three-quarters of Hulu users primarily watch TV shows. Netflix is more movie-driven, with just 11 percent focusing their viewing on TV shows. Slightly more than half of Netflix users watch mainly movies.
In May, more than 15 billion videos were streamed, an all-time high.
Lucas loses UK battle over stormtrooper helmetsJill Lawless
LONDON (AP) – The Empire has struck out.
Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday defeated a bid by George Lucas’ company to stop a prop designer making and selling replicas of the iconic stormtrooper helmets from the “Star Wars” films. The court did, however, prevent him from selling them in the United States.
Andrew Ainsworth sculpted the white helmets worn by the sinister galactic warriors in the original “Star Wars” film in 1977, and now sells replica costumes, made from the original molds, over the Internet. Lucasfilm Ltd. has been trying for years to stop him, in a battle that has climbed through the British courts.
Lucasfilm’s lawyers argued that the stormtrooper suits are sculptures and therefore works of art covered by British copyright law. Two lower courts ruled in 2008 and 2009 that the costumes were props, not artworks, and so covered by a much shorter copyright period that has now expired.
The country’s highest court on Wednesday upheld those decisions. The panel of five judges said “it was the ‘Star Wars’ film that was the work of art that Mr. Lucas and his companies created. The helmet was utilitarian in the sense that it was an element in the process of production of the film.”
But the judges agreed with Lucasfilm’s lawyers – and a lower court – that Ainsworth had violated Lucas’s copyright in the United States by selling costumes there.
Ainsworth’s attorney, Seamus Andrew, said that means the designer may have to pay damages to Lucasfilm for the U.S. sales, but they are likely to be minor because he did not sell much merchandise there. The judges said Ainsworth had sold between $8,000 and $30,000 worth of goods in the U.S.
Andrew said that on the broader issue, “our client won, without a doubt.”
He said the Supreme Court had been asked: “Could our client continue to manufacture and sell replica helmets and suits of armor without any form of license from George Lucas? And he can.”
Ainsworth, 62, said he was delighted.
“I am proud to report that in the English legal system David can prevail against Goliath if his cause is right,” he said. “If there is a Force, then it has been with me these past five years.”
Lucasfilm said that “unfortunately” the court had upheld an “anomaly of British copyright law under which the creative and highly artistic works made for use in films – which are protected by the copyright laws of virtually every other country in the world – may not be entitled to copyright protection in the U.K.”
The eminent Supreme Court judges may be experts in law, but their ruling revealed gaps in their knowledge of science fiction. The judgment said the “Star Wars” movies are set “in an imaginary, science-fiction world of the future.”
Film fans know that they take place “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”
Former ABC News president Elmer Lower dies at 98
VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Elmer Lower, a former ABC News president who tripled the size of that network’s news division during the 60s and 70s, has died in Florida. He was 98.
ABC News President Ben Sherwood released a statement saying Lower died Tuesday morning in Vero Beach.
Lower served as president of ABC News from 1963 to 1974. In that time, the news division grew from 250 to 750 employees, and the evening news expanded from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Lower also was behind the network’s hiring of broadcasting greats such as Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, Frank Reynolds and Sam Donaldson.
Lower was honored with a lifetime achievement Emmy award in 1975.
Lower retired from news in 1978. He then went on to educate young journalists for more than two decades.
Harry Potter to end Indonesia’s Hollywood droughtJAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Hollywood blockbusters will soon return to Indonesian screens, with the final “Harry Potter” film leading the way to end a five-month drought caused by a standoff over the country’s tax on imported movies, an official said Monday.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is being imported by a newly established local company and will be released before Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month that begins Aug. 1, said Djonny Sjafruddin, head of the Indonesian Cinema Companies Union. He declined to give an exact release date.
“All things such as censorship and subtitles have already been finished,” Sjafruddin said. “We need some 90 copies and they are now under process.”
He added that “Transformers 3” and “Kung Fu Panda 2” would also be released during the next several weeks.
The announcment signals relief for moviegoers forced for months to make do with local productions and second-tier foreign releases because of the protracted dispute between studios, film importers and the government.
In February, six major Hollywood studios withdrew films from Indonesia, a Muslim-majority nation of 237 million people, in opposition to a new levy on imported movies that was meant to protect local filmmakers.
Last month the government announced a revised tax it said would bring back Hollywood movies, but their return had been blocked by another dispute.
Indonesia’s largest film distributors remain banned from bringing in new films, pending their payment of more than $30 million in unpaid taxes and related penalties. The film importers are challenging that in court.
The debut of “Harry Potter” and the other movies is made possible by the recent establishment of a new film importer, PT Omega Film, Sjarifuddin said. The new company has no tax problems and so can distribute the newest Hollywood movies,
Many Indonesian film lovers turned to the black market for the latest movies during the five-month blackout. Pirated DVD vendors reported a 50 percent increase in sales, according to local media. Others flew to Singapore to see the latest Hollywood hits.
Studios participating in the boycott include Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Warner Bros. Pictures and Universal Pictures, leaving Indonesian movie fans gasping. Normally, they spend an estimated $6.2 million a month, but local media report box-office takings have been down 60 to 70 percent since February.
‘Zorba’ director Cacoyannis dies at 89ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Michael Cacoyannis, the Cyprus born-filmmaker and screenwriter who directed the 1964 film classic “Zorba the Greek,” starring Anthony Quinn, has died at an Athens hospital. He was 89.
Officials at a state-run hospital said Cacoyannis died early Monday of complications from a heart attack and chronic respiratory problems.
Cacoyannis won multiple awards and worked with such well-known actors as Melina Mercouri, Irene Papas, Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Candice Bergen. But he was best known internationally for the Academy Award-winning “Zorba the Greek” – the 1964 adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel – joining up with composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose score for the movie remains an enduring Greek anthem.
In the black-and-white movie, a scholarly Englishman played by Alan Bates, travels to the Greek island of Crete to visit a coal mine he inherited. Alexis Zorbas, played by Anthony Quinn, is his grizzled and larger-than-life cook and fixer.
The movie won two technical awards at the 1965 Oscars, while Lila Kedrova won for best supporting actress. But Cacoyannis and Quinn both lost out to “My Fair Lady,” which was voted best picture that year.
Cacoyannis was born in 1921 in the Cypriot port of Limassol, when the Mediterranean island was still a British colony. He studied law in London, but soon followed his interest in the arts, working for the BBC’s Greek service, studying drama, and eventually getting acting parts in the theater.
After moving to Athens, Cacoyannis made his debut as a director with “Windfall in Athens” in 1954. Two years later, he won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film for “Stella,” starring Mercouri.
“His movies received awards at the most important film festivals in the world,” Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanos said. “His work became the vehicle that took Greek culture to every corner of the earth, and served as a source of inspiration for Greek and foreign artists.”
Cacoyannis had no children and is survived by his sister Giannoula.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.
Spielberg says new ‘Jurassic Park’ is coming soon
SAN DIEGO (AP) – Dinosaur fan alert: Steven Spielberg says a fourth “Jurassic Park” film may be only a few years away.
Spielberg told an audience at the Comic-Con fan convention Friday that he has a story and a screenwriter for the next installment of his blockbuster franchise about prehistoric reptiles brought into modern times through cloning.
The filmmaker directed the first two “Jurassic Park” adventures but would be overseeing as a producer this time. He says the film hopefully will come together in the next two or three years.
It was Spielberg’s first trip to the sprawling Comic-Con event, where the director and his producing partner, Peter Jackson, showed off footage of their action story “The Adventures of Tintin.” It’s due in theaters late this year.
