jimjams

Archive for April, 2008

, , ,

Probable Actors’ Strike Creates Movie Boom

In Hollywood, Movies, Show Business, Television, law on April 27, 2008 at 8:48 pm

It’s not a sequel anyone wants to see—another lengthy strike like the writers’ one that caused losses galore for the entertainment industry and the So Cal economy.

Unfortunately, the Screen Actors Guild and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers seem to be light-years away from any agreement, even though the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have stepped out of the picture to allow labor talks.

When it comes to labor negotiations in Hollywood, Tinseltown is the land of acronyms.

SAG, AMPTP, AFTRA…the list goes on.

AFTRA has delayed its talks with AMPTP for a week to give SAG a head start. But the AMPTP studio heads will probably make deals in separate negotiations with AFTRA long before they settle with SAG.

The sticky issue in the actors’ union haggle is the same as it was for the writers—new technology. Workers want in on the cash for films streamed and sold on the Internet, cell phones and portable devices.

SAG sent a mailing to members explaining the importance of the digital battle. The document noted that by 2010, the largest 100 media companies would be bringing in a projected $20.7 billion annually from the Net.

Studios and production companies aren’t waiting around to see what happens. They’re rushing ahead to beat a possible strike.

Feature film shoots in the L.A. area are up 11% for 2008’s first quarter.

And ASAP, PDQ and LHU have become the buzz du jour.

, , , , ,

Rob Lowe’s Litigation Woes

In Hollywood, Social and Politics, celebrity, entertainment, law on April 20, 2008 at 9:44 pm

When Rob Lowe starred on “The West Wing,” his character had to face many a crisis.

Now the former Brat Packer is going to have to face Gloria Allred’s real life questioning under oath.

Lowe launched a legal preemptive strike when he filed a lawsuit against three former employees, which included a former nanny, Jessica Gibson, against whom Lowe is alleging breach of contract and breach of a confidentiality clause. Lowe claims Gibson demanded $1.5 million in exchange for her silence concerning sexual abuse allegations.

Lowe’s lawyer has dismissed the nanny’s claims as “outrageous” and “untrue.”

Gibson, in turn, has filed a suit of her own, which alleges that during the time period between September 2005 and January 2008, the actor touched her inappropriately on several occasions.

The former nanny’s lawyer is the pervasive Gloria Allred, who immediately took her case on the cable show road.

Allred has reportedly scheduled the sworn videotaped depositions of Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl Berkoff for late May.

“I’m sure some of the questions will make him uncomfortable, but our job is to get to the truth,” Allred told E! News. “They are going to have to sit down, and we are going to have a lot of tough questions for them.”

There appears to be plenty of material for a jury to chew on.

Gibson worked on and off for Rob and Sheryl Lowe for seven years, quit several times but apparently returned to the job.

Greta Van Susteren has gotten hold of copies of two e-mails sent by Gibson to Rob and his wife. One reads: “It was just time for my heart to let go. It’s not fair to you and the boys. I have nothing but love and respect for your family.”

Another, which dealt with the subject of leaving her job, states, “It had nothing to do with you or Rob either.”

These e-mails may be pivotal in the Lowe case because of the absence of any physical proof or witnesses to the alleged harassment.

Lowe already has a character witness in the form of Aaron Sorkin, the writer-producer and creator of “The West Wing.”

Sorkin told People magazine via e-mail, “I’ve only known him to be a gentleman who cares first and most for his family. I’ve worked with Rob twice – for three years on The West Wing and for another six months when he starred in the [London] West End revival of A Few Good Men.”

This isn’t the first time Lowe has had to deal with bad publicity.

While attending the Democratic National Convention in the late 1980s, a videotape surfaced in which Lowe was depicted in a compromising position with a teenage girl.

You can bet Allred is going to try to convince a judge that the twenty-year-old footage is still relevant evidence.

James Hirsen is a media analyst, Trinity Law School professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.

, , , ,

George Clooney’s China Challenge

In Celebrities, Hollywood, Media, Movies, Politics, entertainment, law on April 13, 2008 at 8:12 pm

George Clooney is one of several celebrities who deserve credit for bringing attention to the horrific situation in Darfur.

But it appears as though the actor has a sore spot he’d rather not talk about.

Movie stars make piles of cash as spokespersons for products that are sold overseas. Celebs are comfortable with the arrangement because when they give sales of products outside the U.S. an assist, it doesn’t diminish their mystique with American fans.

Curiously, when the subject of Clooney’s hawking of goods for foreign companies comes up, he dodges the issue like a seasoned pol.

While over in Rome promoting his recent box-office disappointment, “Leatherheads,” Clooney told the entertainment reporters, “If someone tries to sell you clothes or watches that are based on me, don’t buy them.”

Clooney has been paid handsomely to be the spokesperson for the Swiss watch company, Omega. The company has even dubbed the star an “Omega Ambassador.”

It just so happens, though, that Omega is one of the major sponsors of the 2008 Olympics, which will take place in China. And the Sudan, the same country that has failed to take action to stop the killing in Darfur, is supported by China.

Clooney may have given us a good idea with his Rome comment after all.

If someone tries to sell us watches that are based on him, let’s not buy them, especially if the timepieces are made by a company whose policies lend a corrupt hand to human rights atrocities.

Someone who keeps his entertainment-related priorities in perspective, believe it or not, is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Antonin Scalia is a living judicial treasure, an individual who is on the bench of the United States Supreme Court through an act of providence.

Justice Scalia recently turned his formidable rhetorical skills in the direction of those who would like to give courtroom proceedings the Hollywood treatment.

Although Justice Scalia has no problem with the coverage of Supreme Court proceedings on C-SPAN, he is far from ready to accept the idea that TV cameras should be capturing trials in local courthouses.

“To make entertainment out of real people’s legal troubles is quite sick,” Scalia said on C-SPAN’s “Students and Leaders,” adding, “You want to entertain the public? Hire actors and put on Perry Mason or something.”

In trademark wisdom, he explained, “I don’t think it is right to make enjoyment out of litigation, civil or criminal.”

James Hirsen is a media analyst, Trinity Law School professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.

, ,

Charlton Heston: Larger than Life

In Celebrities, Movies, Politics, entertainment on April 7, 2008 at 1:17 am

Charlton Heston was one of the greatest movie stars who ever lived.

He, of course, played the larger than life Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments.” Things don’t get too much bigger than that in Hollywood.

His life was filled with political fervor, too. Second nature, I guess; caring about the country and having the strength of character to actually put thoughts, words and feelings into motion.

Heston supported Democrats Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy and stood alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C.

Even though he opposed the Vietnam War, Heston made it a point to visit the troops, look into the faces, grip the hands, ease the load, if only for the moment.

At one point he changed party labels and took on the GOP designation. He became a champion of civil liberties, spurred on by the Robert Bork battle and Bork’s eventual denial of a Supreme Court seat.

Heston became a foot soldier in the fight against political correctness, which he referred to as “tyranny with manners.”

Despite the media and their railing against him, in the 1960s Heston held fast to his civil rights activist promptings. And in the 1990s he upheld “freedom in the truest sense” with his Second Amendment advocacy.

Like dust from a chariot wheel, Heston brushed off the personal attacks of his opponents. “I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 – long before Hollywood found it fashionable,” he said.

When in a speech he tried to make a point about the concept of pride of heritage, black, white or red, he was called a racist. When on another occasion he took exception to the idea of having special rights based on sexual orientation, he was labeled a homophobe. These are only two of the many blows he suffered in the line of free speech duty.

Still, he remained undeterred in expressing his ideas and beliefs in the public arena.

Heston saw parallels between America of the 1990s and ancient Rome, disturbed by the societal signals he perceived especially in the entertainment realm. “Our culture has replaced the bloody arena fights of ancient Rome with stage fights on TV with Sally, Ricki, Jerry, Jenny and Rosie,” he lamented.

Despite risk to career and legacy, he admonished the Hollywood community, telling them, “We see films made that diminish the American experience and example. And sometimes trash it completely.”

Summing up his professional life, Heston said, “I’ve played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses and that’s probably enough for any man.”

Not just any man, an American archetype.

Go rest high upon the mountain, Chuck.

James Hirsen is a media analyst, Trinity Law School professor and teacher of mass media law at Biola University.