Register

    Director Rian Johnson’s ex-agent sues over “Star Wars” work

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1611 Views
    In this Sept. 6, 2012 file photo, writer-director Rian Johnson speaks about his movie "Looper" during a news conference at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Aaron Vincent Elkaim, File)
    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    A former agent for the director of the next "Star Wars" film claims in a lawsuit filed Friday that he was cut out of negotiations regarding the blockbuster franchise.

    Agent Brian Dreyfuss sued Rian Johnson in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking 10 percent of the director's "Star Wars" earnings.

    Dreyfuss' lawsuit states he helped arrange a meeting between Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Johnson in 2012 but that the director told him he wasn't interested in pursuing the company's projects. His suit states he was fired in March 2014, about a year before Johnson confirmed he would direct the eighth film in the "Star Wars" franchise.

    Production on the film, which is due to be released in December 2017, began last month.

    Dreyfuss began working with Johnson around 2002 and helped him develop his first film, "Brick," the lawsuit states. The agent also encouraged Johnson to direct several episodes of the hit television series "Breaking Bad" and the 2012 film "Looper," which starred Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

    A call to Johnson's publicist was not immediately returned.

    Dreyfuss' lawsuit does not state how much he is seeking, but it states he is entitled to Johnson's earnings from other projects, including "Looper."

    Tags:Brian DreyfussRian JohnsonStar Wars



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment