Entertainment is big business, so perhaps it’s no surprise that some of the lawsuits related to them are also fairly large. Let’s take a look at some of the recent legal actions related to celebrities, popular culture, and entertainment in general.
Hugh Jackman, known for playing the character Wolverine in the X-Men movie series, was recently attacked by a fan who threw a razor at him before departing the area. The attacker was arrested a short time later, and while the charges aren’t likely to be as high as some of the other cases we’ll be looking at today, they do highlight the fact that many people in popular culture have to worry about more than legal contracts.
The legal system doesn’t always move very quickly, either, as our next two cases indicate.
Back in 2011, producer Glen Larson sued Universal City Studios over millions of dollars in profits from popular television shows like Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider. Complicated legal action isn’t unknown when two teams with excellent legal representation go up against each other, but cases that could go on for substantial amounts of time are rare even by the standards of major Hollywood cases. The issue pits the creative section against the accounting areas and might even have an impact on future distribution of profits throughout the area.
On the brighter side, an agreement was finally reached for issues related to the troubled production of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, the most expensive production in the history of Broadway. Julie Taymor, previously acting as director for the show, finally managed to settle with the producers and avoid an open battle in court over subjects like royalties and ownership of copyright. The details of the settlement have not been made public (which is not unusual in cases like this), but both parties involved have released statements expressing satisfaction with the deal they made.
These two cases also have one other highlight to them: They’re being approached in different ways by the parties involved. While the Spiderman production was settled privately, before going to court, Glen Larson apparently opted to head right into court instead of waiting.
Other cases that have closed recently haven’t always had a big reward for somebody involved, but have set down some ideas about what people are allowed to say about actors. In a realm where perception is important, actress Huong Huang claimed that she had lost out on the opportunity for some jobs after IMDb posted information about her, including her age, where those considering hiring her could check it. IMDb was awarded the win in this particular case, where it was felt that the site’s intention to provide true and accurate information gave it a justifiable case over allowing others to falsify their personal information. Meanwhile, Howard Stern lost a second attempt at a lawsuit aiming for $300 Million dollars against Sirius XM radio.
Not every entertainment case focuses on a lot of money, but these are only a few of the cases that are currently going on within this major industry. It’s truly remarkable how much money is often moved around by court order, and while we don’t primarily focus on cases quite this large, the Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin will fight for your rights if you come to us for legal representation.
