November 19, 2010
NJ judge: ‘Hurt Locker’ suit can proceed in Calif.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – A judge has ruled that an Iraq war veteran can sue the makers of the Academy Award-winning film “The Hurt Locker” in California, not New Jersey.
U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh’s ruling published Friday also denies the defendants’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought last spring by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver, an Army bomb disposal expert. Sarver claims the film’s lead character is based on him and that he was given no credit or compensation.
Screenwriter Mark Boal wrote about Sarver in an article published in Playboy magazine in 2005. Boal has said the film was a work of fiction.
Among the defendants in the suit are Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow.
“The Hurt Locker” won six Oscars in 2010, including best picture and best original screenplay.
NY Rooftop Deck Qwner Fires ‘Apprentice’ ProducersBy Verena Dobnik
NEW YORK (AP) – The dirt is flying between Donald Trump’s producers for TV’s “Celebrity Apprentice” and the owner of the city’s biggest, glitziest rooftop garden.
Plans to shoot the NBC show’s season finale atop 230 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan were nixed after owner Steven Greenberg accused Mark Burnett Productions of being “scam artists.”
“The answer is NO!” Greenberg wrote in an e-mail to Heather Carrington in Burnett’s business development department.
The brouhaha started last week when a location scout first expressed interest in the 22,000-square-foot deck, called 230 Fifth, with its 360-degree Manhattan panorama from the Flatiron District and a straight-on view of the Empire State Building. On some nights, the heated rooftop bar and restaurant accommodates thousands of guests amid palm trees and fountains.
Work on the “Apprentice” reality show would have started at 5:30 a.m. last Monday, Greenberg said.
But by late Nov. 12, the Friday before work was to start, “they still hadn’t made up their mind,” he said, adding that special arrangements would have had to be made for elevators and other technicalities.
“I was very upset,” Greenberg said. “And I told them, ‘I think this is a jerk-around by you people.'”
Carrington apologized on Saturday, e-mailing Greenberg that she was “very sorry about how you were treated yesterday” and saying she was “in shock when you phoned and was not sure what was said to you from the locations department,” according to messages he released to The Associated Press.
The producers said “Apprentice,” a business-themed reality competition, was still interested, but Greenberg said he believes they were looking at other locations while “taking my space off the market.”
Carrington said Thursday that she had no comment and that an attorney for Burnett would contact the AP. No call was received as of Thursday evening.
While Greenberg didn’t believe t he production employees’ actions “in any way reflect the way Donald Trump would do business or conduct himself,” he wrote to Carrington, “I have rarely, if ever, dealt with a more disingenuous, dishonest and inept group such as yours.”
Still, he said tongue-in-cheek, “I didn’t fire Trump till Saturday!”
Hall Of Justice Helps Out Hollywood SuperheroesBy Robert Jablon
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Batman, Superman and other superheroes are getting some help from the feds for their caped crusades along Hollywood Boulevard.
U.S. Judge Dean Pregerson on Wednesday blocked police from cracking down on the costumed characters who perform and pose for pictures for tips along the fabled street.
It may not seem like a traditional form of free speech, but their right to perform is protected under that provision of the U.S. Constitution, Pregerson wrote in the ruling that was welcomed by the performers.
“If cops want to do their job correctly, go find a real criminal,” Michael Jackson impersonator Sean Vezina said Thursday.
Reports of aggressive panhandling and even fights involving unlicensed street performers led to a crackdown in May and June that led to about two dozen arrests for petty crimes such as blocking the sidewalk.
Since then, some performers said, police have threatened to arrest them if they didn’t l eave – although on any given day Superman, Spider-Man and Capt. Jack Sparrow can still be seen preening and flexing.
“This is a cultural activity,” said Fikret Sahin, 40, a Turkish immigrant who studies music at Los Angeles City College and occasionally portrays Yoda from “Star Wars.”
The federal injunction was issued in a lawsuit brought by some of the characters. Police have not decided whether to appeal.
Officers stepped up their presence after receiving numerous complaints from business owners and the public that costumed performers had made violent threats against tourists who refused to hand over cash after snapping photos, said Hollywood area police Sgt. Robert McDonald.
The Chamber of Commerce disagreed with the judge’s decision, noting that police are sometimes needed to protect tourists from large crowds of impersonators.
Chamber President Leron Gubler said as many as 60 characters sometimes congregate before dawn in front of the famou s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, where they crowd tourists into the street and refuse to move unless their photos are taken.
“We think that the judge did not bother to take into consideration the situation on the street,” Gubler said. “I would just say it’s basically a license for these characters to harass the public.
“We have had no one – and I repeat not one person – who has said they miss the characters,” he said.
Vezina, who has been a Jackson impersonator for six years, said he takes pains not to be aggressive when asking for tips. Yet on Wednesday, an officer still told him to beat it, he said.
Vezina said police legitimately arrested a Batman impersonator who got drunk on his birthday and a Shrek who fought a homeless man.
Performers say they offer a valuable service in an area with little more than stores, souvenirs and cheap eateries.
“It’s like a souvenir for the people,” Jordi Bellon, a 26-year-old from Spain, said, peering through his black Zorro mask as he wielded a rose and a plastic sword outside Grauman’s.
Yvonne Haug, 53, a visitor from Ontario, Canada, agreed.
“It’s kind of neat, having Zorro standing next to you,” she said. “This is what we came to see.”
Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Silent Film Star Marie Osborne Yeats Dies at 99
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (AP) – Silent film child star Marie Osborne Yeats, who was known as Baby Marie Osborne in films such as “Little Mary Sunshine,” has died in California. She was 99.
Daughter Joan Young tells the Los Angeles Times that Yeats died Nov. 11 at her San Clemente home. The cause of death wasn’t disclosed, but Yeats had suffered three strokes in her later years.
Director Henry King launched Baby Marie to stardom in 1916 with “Little Mary Sunshine,” a film written for her.
“Little Mary Sunshine” was the first in a series of Baby Marie Osborne films that captivated audiences worldwide and led to Baby Marie dolls and paper dolls.
Her film career ended after the 1919 comedy “Miss Gingersnap,” and she later worked as a studio costume supervisor.
Hollywood Community Puts Up Reward After Slaying
By John Rogers
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – The slaying of one of their own has united the competitive community of behind-the-scenes Hollywood publicists, prompting them to contribute big bucks for reward money to find the killer.
Ronni Chasen, well-known for working tirelessly to promote her celebrity clients, was shot to death in her car as she drove home from a party after attending Tuesday’s premiere of the new Cher and Christina Aguilera movie, “Burlesque.”
Tributes flowed quickly from her stunned community and, absent any hard leads in the homicide investigation, so did money.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival, which Chasen worked with for many years, on Wednesday offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of her killer. Fellow publicist Michael Levine a day earlier started a fund and hoped to raise an additional $25,000 by the end of the week.
“A very good lady, a good friend and a genius at her craft. Her death is very, very sad and mystifying,” festival chairman Harold Matzner said in a statement.
Though by no means a household name, Chasen was a celebrity in her own right to those who work to promote Hollywood movies and their stars. Friends remembered her as an old-school publicist, one with a distinctive, brassy voice who could be relentlessly pushy and loud.
But at the same time, they said, she was never rude and seemed to have no enemies.
Police searched Chasen’s Los Angeles condo and her West Hollywood office but had little immediate insight into who might have wanted to harm her.
Beverly Hills police Lt. Tony Lee said nothing had been ruled out, including a carjacking, a random attack or even a targeted hit.
Chasen, 64, was shot multiple times in the chest as she drove through Beverly Hills around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Golden Globes group sues Dick Clark Productions
Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the annual Golden Globe Awards, is suing Dick Clark Productions, claiming it signed an agreement with NBC to broadcast the awards show without the association’s consent.
The HFPA’s suit against Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes show, and its parent company alleges trademark infringement and breach of contract.
In court papers filed Wednesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association says Dick Clark Productions made the deal with NBC to broadcast the Golden Globes through 2018. The group says Dick Clark Productions sold the broadcast rights “well below market rates.”
The agreement with NBC is not effective because Dick Clark Productions “has no broadcast rights to grant,” the association says in its 68-page complaint.
The group further claims Dick Clark Productions represents itself as owner of digital rights to the Golden Globe Awards and in terfered with a meeting between the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Facebook.
The HFPA owns the Globes and its intellectual property and contract rights. It first hired Dick Clark Productions to produce the Golden Globes in 1983. The two organizations have an agreement that expires after the 2011 Golden Globes show.
In a statement Wednesday, Dick Clark Productions accuses the HFPA of “attempting to try this case in the court of public opinion.”
“Our respective rights under the contract are clear. The HFPA cannot unilaterally change the basis on which DCP and the HFPA have done business for almost three decades,” the statement said.
The HFPA says in its lawsuit that Dick Clark Productions’ “bad-faith conduct creates uncertainty about the broadcast rights for the Golden Globe Awards show and severely compromises HFPA’s ability to exploit its property.”
The HFPA’s attorney, Linda J. Smith of O’Melveny & Myers, said the complaint details how Dick Clark Productions “has been trying to steal the HFPA’s most valuable asset.”
“The HFPA did not take this step lightly,” she said. “It is confident of its grounds, and it fully expects to prevail.”
Dick Clark Productions’ parent company, Red Zone Capital, and NBC had no comment Wednesday. It was unclear how the dispute might affect this season’s Golden Globes show, scheduled for Jan. 16, 2011.
Report: Online Video Providers Not Protecting KidsBy Jake Coyle, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – Mainstream online video destinations don’t do enough to keep explicit content from kids, the Parents Television Council said in a report released Wednesday.
The advocacy group, which monitors decency issues, evaluated the child appropriateness of four online video portals: Hulu, Comcast’s Fancast, AOL’s Slashcontrol and AT&T’s U-verse. None received a better grade than a D.
The study looked at home pages and 602 videos over a three-week period. The council found that standards are more lenient online than on broadcast television, that content ratings were vague and that content that may be unsuitable for children under 14 could be watched by young children.
The president of the Parents Television Council, Tim Winter, said the report proved that the four websites “are failing to protect kids on the Web.”
“The content ratings and parental control devices (media corporations) tout as a solution to indecent material on television are not being applied to similarly indecent material on their websites,” Winter said.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said in a statement that through a program called Smart Limits the company provides various tools that enable parents to limit the kinds of videos children can view on computers, TVs and cell phones.
AOL disputed some of the report’s findings. A spokeswoman for the company said that parental controls can be put in place for Slashcontrol and that it’s a site with a primarily adult audience.
“Slashcontrol is not a kids and teens site and is not promoted to kids and teens,” AOL said in a statement.
Hulu (which is owned by NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Co. and Providence Equity Partners) and Comcast didn’t respond to requests for comment on the study.
The report calls on online providers to implement more effective ways of filtering out content unsuitable for children, including home pages with a parental contr ol option and more explicit ratings.
The Parents Television Council said it chose the sites it did for the study because they’re aggregators of commercially supported streaming video. It excluded sites that display their own content exclusively and those that focus on user-generated videos.
The Doors Members: Fla. Gov Should Pardon Morrison
By Brendan Farrington
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who played with rock legend Jim Morrison in The Doors, are supporting Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s proposal to pardon Morrison for an indecent exposure conviction after a 1969 Miami concert.
Both bandmates said Wednesday that Morrison never actually pulled out his penis during the now infamous concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium.
They said he was drunk and teased the crowd but he never followed through.
They said Morrison was inspired that night by a stage group called The Living Theater, which was performing plays in which actors disrobed – but he didn’t actually undo his pants.
Morrison was appealing the conviction when he was found dead in 1971 in a Paris bathtub.
Producer Accused of Wife’s Killing to Stay in Jail
Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Lawyers for a reality TV producer charged with killing his wife in Mexico attacked the investigation Wednesday and promised a vigorous fight against extradition at a hearing where the defendant was ordered to remain in jail at least until a bail hearing later this month.
Suspect Bruce Beresford-Redman did not enter a plea during his brief appearance in federal court in Los Angeles. Dressed in a T-shirt and blue jeans, the former “Survivor” producer politely answered questions from a magistrate judge about his identity.
He has been charged with aggravated homicide in Mexico in the death of his wife Monica while they were on a family vacation in April.
Beresford-Redman is due back in court on Nov. 29 for the bail hearing. His attorney, Richard Hirsch, said he will argue that the producer should be granted bail, since extradition proceedings could take up to a year.
“There are many discrepancies between their opinions and the physical evidence obtained in the case,” Hirsch said.
Prosecutors want the judge to reject the request for bail. In a court filing, they the producer left Mexico after surrendering his passport and being told to remain there. Authorities also allege in a criminal complaint that there is evidence he killed his wife in a hotel room he shared with his young children.
‘Community’ Star Joel McHale to Host Spirit Awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) – TV sitcom star Joel McHale is joining the independent-film community.
McHale, who stars in NBC’s “Community,” is scheduled to host the Spirit Awards that honor indie films on Feb. 26, the day before the Academy Awards.
A relaxed and freewheeling party compared to many Hollywood black-tie gatherings, the Spirit Awards will be presented in an afternoon ceremony in a tent along the beach in Santa Monica, just west of Los Angeles. Nominations are due out Nov. 30.
Dawn Hudson is the executive director of Film Independent, which puts on the Spirit Awards. Hudson says McHale’s “quick wit, talent and charm makes him a perfect fit” for the awards show’s audience.
McHale’s upcoming movie credits include a “Spy Kids” sequel and the comedy “The Big Year.”
Angelina Jolie Cuts Bosnia Shooting After RumorsBy Aida Cerkez
ARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) – Angelina Jolie has cut short the shooting of her first movie in Bosnia, her producer said, after rumors that it portrayed a relationship between a rapist and his victim sparked protests from women assaulted during the Bosnian War.
Jolie had originally planned to shoot scenes for her movie for about ten days in Bosnia, but now her crew will film the scenes in just three or four days, said Edin Sarkic, Jolie’s Bosnian producer. Jolie herself will only briefly visit the set, he said.
The change of plans came after rumors surrounding the movie’s storyline angered an association of women raped during the war in Bosnia who heard the film was about a rape victim falling in love with her rapist. They pressured city officials to withdraw Jolie’s filming permit in October.
The rumors proved to be untrue, but still cast a shadow on the project.
Jolie’s permit was reissued three days later, but Sarkic said she de cided to film some of the scenes originally planned for Bosnia in Hungary instead.
Jolie has exchanged letters with the women’s association and has said she plans to meet with them when she arrives in Bosnia for her short visit.
The actress said she has great respect for the work of the women’s association and would “like the opportunity to speak with them to personally clear up any misunderstandings about this project.”
Jolie’s movie is about a Serb man and Bosnian Muslim woman who fall in love and get separated during the war.
Mass rape was a taboo topic in the immediate aftermath of the country’s 1992-95 war between Serb and Bosnian Muslim forces but since then victims have formed a group to campaign for their rights, which has become one of the country’s most powerful lobbies.
Mirren to Receive Sherry Lansing Leadership Award
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Helen Mirren better make some room on her awards shelf.
The Hollywood Reporter announced Tuesday that the 65-year-old Oscar winner will receive the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at a ceremony next month.
Halle Berry will present the award to Mirren at the Women in Entertainment breakfast on Dec. 7, where Katie Couric is set to give the keynote address.
The Sherry Lansing Leadership Award is presented annually to a woman who has built a unique entertainment career and made significant contributions to society.
Previous recipients include Berry, Barbara Walters, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Glenn Close.
A four-time Oscar nominee, Mirren won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance in 2006’s “The Queen.”
NBC Universal’s Gaspin Announces Post-Comcast Exit
By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – NBC Universal TV entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin, who oversees the company’s broadcast and cable operations, said he will resign after Comcast Corp. takes control.
Gaspin’s decision, announced in a memo to NBC employees, follows NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker’s September announcement that he would leave after cable provider Comcast takes over the media giant.
Possible executive changes have loomed since last December, when Comcast agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. The merger still is undergoing regulatory scrutiny but could be concluded by the end of the year.
Comcast chief Steve Burke has “determined that he wants to move in a different direction and given the scope of my current responsibilities, we could not agree on an appropriate role for me in the new company,” Gaspin said in the memo. NBC provided the memo Monday upon request and without comment.
Burke, who is set to replace Zucker, reportedly has settled on a new executive team for NBC Universal that will include former Showtime programming head Bob Greenblatt, who will oversee entertainment programming at ratings-challenged NBC.
Greenblatt stepped down from Showtime this summer at the end of his contract and is known for bringing it such hit shows as “Weeds” and “Dexter.”
NBC, which finished last year in fourth place in the ratings and has struggled in the new season, announced a shakeup of its schedule for midseason.
Gaspin was named chairman in summer 2009 after overseeing the company’s stable of entertainment cable networks such as USA, Bravo, SyFy and Oxygen. In his memo, he noted his involvement in the success of NBC Universal’s cable assets and strides made in digital innovation.
Comcast, the nation’s largest TV signal provider serving some 23 million subscribers, said in December it would buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric fo r $6.5 billion in cash plus cable channels it owns such as E! and Style valued at $7.25 billion.
Federal regulators are examining the deal for antitrust concerns given the huge presence the combined entity would have in the creation and distribution of entertainment programs over the airwaves and online.
Schwarzenegger, Luhrmann eulogize De LaurentiisSandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dino De Laurentiis was a man who loved life, his family, good Italian food and the movies.
So said Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Lynch and Baz Luhrmann, who shared stories about the veteran producer at his funeral Monday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
All described the Italian-born producer, who died last week at age 91, as larger than life.
“He fought big, he dreamed big, and that’s the way he saw the cinema, as big,” said Lynch, who made “Dune” and “Blue Velvet” with De Laurentiis. “Ten grown athletic men combined, on PCP, would not equal even a tiny fraction of the energy that Dino had every day… Dino was like a steamroller working, dreaming and thinking the movies.”
Lynch described De Laurentiis as a “great practical joker
Schwarzenegger, who was accompanied by wife Maria Shriver, got laughs from the crowd when he imitated De Laurentiis’ Italian accent. Schwarzenegger m ade four films with De Laurentiis, and said he admired the producer’s brains, courage and heart.
“He never feared failure, and this is the only way you can be successful in life,” the governor said. “I learned that from Dino.”
Luhrmann said De Laurentiis “taught me how to have fun.”
“Dino De Laurentiis was able to blend effortlessly, without any effort whatsoever, life, art and family,” the filmmaker said.
The producer’s youngest daughters, Carolyna and Dina, also eulogized their dad. Carolyna De Laurentiis called him “A force of life” and a “master of Italian guilt.”
His grandchildren, including Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis, read brief passages during the service.
Many guests at the 90-minute service wore red at the request of the family. “It was Dino’s color,” the pastor said. A statement released by the family late Friday explained the legendary producer “did not want to be met with a sea of black at his funeral.”
The Cat hedral of Our Lady of the Angels is the primary church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and hosts some of the city’s most prominent funerals.
Lynch summed up De Laurentiis like this: “Dino was energetic, childlike, powerful, kind, unstoppable, charming, opinionated, fair-minded, fun-loving, an entrepreneur, a family man, a workaholic, a sharp dresser, a practical joker, a dreamer, a producer, a gourmet, a showman, a deal maker, a risk taker, a giver, a taker. A man filled with the love of life.”
‘No Country’ producer Rudin earns Selznick prize
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Scott Rudin, producer of Academy Awards champ “No Country for Old Men” along with “The Social Network” and the upcoming Western remake “True Grit,” has earned a career-achievement prize from his producing peers.
The Producers Guild of America announced Monday that Rudin will receive its David O. Selznick honor at the group’s awards ceremony Jan. 22.
Among Rudin’s other credits are next year’s English-language remake of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” ”Julie & Julia,” ”The Queen,” ”The Hours,” ”The Truman Show” and “The Addams Family.”
Past recipients of the Selznick award include Clint Eastwood, Billy Wilder, Brian Grazer, Jerry Bruckheimer, Laura Ziskin and last year’s winner, Pixar Animation mastermind John Lasseter.
