Firm Updates

In a 15-page complaint filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, William Link and Richard Levinson say Universal City Studios has been holding out on profits from the series, of which the pair insist they are due 10%-20%.

The Johnsons discuss the basics of idea theft (or "Desny") claims, how they work, how they compare to copyright claims, and best practices writers can utilize to take advantage of their benefits.

Not only has a Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected the studio’s bid to throw out breach of contract and fraud claims, but the actor is being permitted to bring a potentially big claim that Warners‘ accounting practices are likely to deceive the public, including others in Hollywood with profit participation agreements.

The Johnsons discuss a variety of common issues arising in the film industry which all transactional attorneys need to consider and advise their clients before they make that deal at Cannes, the American Film Market or elsewhere.

Johnson discusses how the woman at the center of the controversy could sue Warner Bros., which produces the show, for intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud, if she contends that show producers intended to get two contestants drunk with the purpose of filming them having a sexual encounter while inebriated.

The covered discussion includes the disappearance of profit participation rights in the streaming era, the evolution of profit participation agreements from the 1970's to present, the dangers of arbitration, and the oneousness of financing a royalty audit.

Jean-Claude LaMarre says he conceived Chocolate City as a Magic Mike-style movie targeted to people of color and recruited a star-studded cast, only for Fox to undertake a campaign of defamation and business interference against LaMarre.

Jen Arnold and Bill Klein, stars of the TLC series "The Little Couple," are asking a judge to allow them to intervene in ongoing litigation to rescind intellectual-property rights they've conveyed and collect what they believe to be their rightful share of contingent compensation from the series.

The actor claims that the studio intentionally concealed ‘Demolition Man' profits and is seeking to “end” bad accounting practices on Warners' part “for all talent.”

By Bonnie Eslinger Law360, Los Angeles (April 12, 2017, 8:54 PM EDT) — Sylvester Stallone sued Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, claiming the studio has fraudulently concealed his share of revenue from the 1993 film “Demolition Man” and told him the movie...

Neville Johnson, one of Simmons' attorneys, told ABC News that his client decided to take action against false media asserting that Mr. Simmons is transitioning from a male to a female because "it reached a point where he said, 'I'm not going to take it anymore.'"

The complaint filed on Monday paints the tabloids' conduct as “particularly egregious,” a cynical calculation that Simmons wouldn't sue because he wouldn't want to appear as frowning upon the act of transitioning from one gender to another.

The parties squared away the deal after protracted litigation over whether the defendants were negligent in failing to warn consumers about the allegedly adverse effects of using their products while violating such laws as unfair competition and false advertising statutes.

Many pieces of art are subject to reversions, meaning that the artists who originally composed/wrote/painted/sung these works now have rights in copyright to terminate their prior transfers of the rights in their works and reclaim their ownership rights. A barrage of legal issues arise for these artists, through which their lawyers must skillfully navigate.

The founding partners of Johnson & Johnson discuss common sense steps producers can take to protect their interests in a competitive and sometimes unscrupulous marketplace.

Neville Johnson, a Founding Partner of Johnson & Johnson, LLP and named one of the top 100 Power Lawyers in entertainment law by the Hollywood Reporter and one of the most feared litigators in Hollywood joins Enterprise Radio.

Producer Jason Lust is suing Australian VFX company Animal Logic Entertainment and its principal Zareh Nalbandian for breach of contract and fraud, claiming they failed to pay him and conspired to steal his intellectual property.

Social media presents a barrage of legal issues that practicing lawyers must be aware of before taking aspects of their practice into cyber-reality.

The Johnsons discuss a variety of concerns related to lopsided entertainment contract drafting, with a focus on softening onerous contingent compensation accounting procedures and mandatory arbitration provisions.

Glen Larson alleged fraud and was due to take his case to trial in January, but in the midst of figuring out what evidence would be heard at trial, the parties submitted a notice of settlement of the entire case.

The heirs of Larson, who died last November at the age of 77, are now on the brink of a trial against Universal City Studios Productions over claims of being cheated out of millions in profits from his shows.

For those entertainment industry players fortunate enough to obtain the right to receive contingent compensation, the Studios have created serious impediments to hinder profit participants from obtaining fair accounts for the fruits of their labor.

Lawyer Neville Johnson has shone a light on the opaque bookkeeping practices of Hollywood studios and record companies and how they share profits with talent. “The companies are ruthless and rapacious and are going to do everything that they can to squeeze profits, and that comes at the expense of talent,” he says.