Now it's really over.
A Superior Court judge has approved the Motion for Preliminary Approval of the settlement between the Writers Guild of America and class action plaintiffs led by William Richert.
That $30 million settlement followed by a few days the publication by Waxword of the full deposition of whistleblower Terri Mial.
The debt-strapped studio announced Thursday that it had won an interim agreement with its lenders to forgo interest due them for the next three months.
The studio will need to pay the interest on Dec. 15. But the agreement gives the studio necessary "breathing room" in the immediate liquidity crunch, said one executive.
Miramax Films, the arthouse movie division of the Walt Disney Company, will reduce the number of films it releases annually while consolidating certain of its operations, Alan Bergman, president of the studios announced on Friday.
Daniel Battsek, president of Miramax Films, will continue to oversee all aspects of creative, development, production and business and legal affairs out of New York, the studio said.
Miramax released six movies last year. The studio did not specify how few movies it will now release.
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American and Latin American rights to director Michael Hoffman’s historical drama about Leo Tolstoy, "The Last Station," the studio announced Saturday.
Made with the support of the Tolstoy family, the film tells the story of the last days of the famed Russian writer.
Folks -- how great was the "Entourage" finale last night? That Matt Damon -- we always thought he was a nice guy. Turns out he’s really mean. And aggressive. In the name of raising money for his kids charity, onexone. As if that’s any excuse.
I mean, the guy scowled his way through the entire episode. (Even meaner than he was as Tom Ripley, and that guy's a serial killer.) And he badgered that nice Adrian Grenier into giving lots of money ‘for the kids.’
Come to think of it, Bono was pretty mean, too.
Michael Federman, a lawyer for the real estate giant George Comfort and Sons, says that the realtor has filed “legal proceedings” to stop WME partner Ari Emanuel from attempting to back out of a lease agreement for a glam new building for the agency still under construction on Beverly Drive.
Rena Ronson, the veteran independent film agent recently bumped from William Morris during the merger with Endeavor, has joined the United Talent Agency.
She will head up the agency's independent film department with Rich Klubeck, UTA's motion picture literary partner.
Ronson and Cassian Elwes, both respected indie film world agents, were set adrift earlier this year when WME was formed.
On Wednesday, UTA partner Jeremy Zimmer announced the hire.
Update Sunday October 11:
I spoke to Steve Mikulan today, who told me that he'd only recently received a gift from his bosses to mark his landmark 25 years at the L.A. Weekly. I told him he'd only caught the same disease that's afflicting far too many good journalists these days. He replied that he'd seen so many other layoffs that he thought he'd been innoculated.
Earlier:
The economics of the new Hollywood are a moving target, it’s safe to say.
The fast-charging sleeper hit “Paranormal Activity” – production cost $15,000 - is heating up the bidding over distribution rights to the next project of the director of the faux documentary, “Area 51.”
Numerous studios are testing the waters for a distribution deal, among them Paramount, DreamWorks, Sony and Lionsgate, according to executives familiar with the talks.
Executives at NBC-Universal are smacking their foreheads over an interview General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt gave Ron Grover at Business Week today, in which the current top dog made it clear that come what may, his man Jeff Zucker will still have a job.
That’s the message coming from between the lines of Immelt ‘s remarks :
