Delayed by lawsuit 10-Disc MARVEL will ships on April 2nd

Just in case you were wondering whatever happened to that delayed-by-lawsuit 10-disc Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray set that captured a full series of the Disney / Marvel movies, Amazon is notifying pre-orderers (previously mollified with free The Avengers discs) of the new release date: April 2nd. While the original suitcase has been scrapped due to a licensing dispute with its designer, a recent post on Marvel's blog revealed the set will still come in a not-exactly-S.H.I.E.L.D. briefcase complete with glowing Tesseract inside. The movies, bonus content, art cases and all are still intact, however with the delay have come a few extras. Buyers can expect an early preview of Iron Man 3 and the Phase Two series of flicks, as well as prop replicas and never-before-seen extras from the earlier films. The bad news? The price appears to have gone up, flashing a $219 MSRP and currently selling for $197 on Amazon. While you're thinking that over, check after the break for a clip from Thor that didn't make the theatrical cut.
Read More: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/30/marvel-cinematic-universe-phase-one-blu-ray-set-is-back-on-shi/

EBay's double tax base prompts calls for investigation

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and Germany may have missed out on a combined $1 billion in sales tax since online marketplace eBay picked a tiny Luxembourg office as its base for EU sales, a shift that lawmakers say should now be investigated.

EBay's nomination of Luxembourg unit eBay Europe Sarl - with a staff of nine - as its provider of services to EU clients allows it to charge customers in Europe a low rate of sales tax, often known as Value Added Tax, helping it to compete against rivals.

However, the unit doesn't actually receive the money from sales. Instead, eBay said it continues to channel revenues through a Berne-based unit, allowing the company also to benefit from what Swiss tax lawyers say is the most competitive corporate income tax regime in Europe.

EU rules allow companies to establish subsidiaries in Luxembourg and levy VAT at Luxembourg's low VAT rate on sales to customers across the bloc.

However, the rules also allow individual EU taxmen to challenge any claim to Luxembourg residence, and the right to charge Luxembourg VAT, in their domestic courts, if the taxman feels a Luxembourg-based subsidiary does not have sufficient staff or assets to support its claim to be the true supplier of goods or services.

Tax experts say eBay's arrangement, which appears to give eBay the best of both income and sales tax worlds, could be open to challenge, and lawmakers in the UK and Germany want their taxmen to investigate.

Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-ebays-double-tax-prompts-calls-investigation-152143017--sector.html

Producer sues Pythons over 'Spamalot' royalties

A producer of the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is suing the British comedy troupe over royalties from the hit stage musical "Spamalot."

Producer Mark Forstater wants a bigger share of proceeds from the show, which is based on the Pythons' 1975 movie spoof of the legend of King Arthur.

Lawyers for Monty Python are contesting Forstater's claim and will present their arguments later. Python members Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones will give evidence during a five-day hearing that began Friday at London's High Court.

Forstater is suing the trio and the two other surviving Python members, John Cleese and Terry Gilliam. The sixth member of the troupe, Graham Chapman, died in 1989.

Forstater's lawyer, Tom Weisselberg, said under an agreement made when the film was produced, "for financial purposes Mr. Forstater was to be treated as the seventh Python" and entitled to the same share of "Holy Grail" merchandising and spin-off income as the other members.

That amounts to one seventh of the first 50 percent of such income, but lawyers for the Python troupe say he is entitled only to one fourteenth.

Read More: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/producer-sues-pythons-over-spamalot-royalties-140607723.html

'Expendables 2' Stuntman Sues Over Injuries in On-Set Explosion

Nuo Sun filed suit Thursday against Millennium Films over injuries suffered in an on-set accident that killed another stuntman.

Nuo Sun filed suit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Millennium Films, claiming an Oct. 27, 2011, stunt at the Ognyanovo Reservoir/Dam near the village of Ognyanovo was recklessly staged by the producers of the Sylvester Stallone action sequel. Sun, who news reports have suggested was a stand-in for co-star Jet Li, alleges he was engaged in a stunt in a rubber boat when an explosion severely injured him. Another stuntman on the film, Kun Lieu, was killed in the same explosion.

Read full complaint here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Documents/ESQ/bc496395.pdf

As a result of the alleged negligence, Sun claims he has suffered "severe shock and injury" to his "nervous system, neck, head, body, arms and legs, all of which injuries may be permanent and all of which injuries have caused and continue to cause plaintiff great mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint, filed by attorney Robert Klein, alleges causes of action for negligence and strict liability against defendants Millennium, Barney's Christmas Inc., Second Choice Productions International and Second Choice Production Services.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/expendables-2-stuntman-sues-injuries-395720

GERARD DEPARDIEU Detained for Drunk Driving on a Scooter

Gerard Depardieu wound up in a French police station today ... after cops say the actor was drunk driving around Paris on a scooter.

According to reports, Gerard  starred in The Iron Mask and "Green Card" back in the '90s -- fell off his scooter like a drunken idiot ... catching the attention of police, who took the 63-year-old into custody.

Gerard was reportedly held for questioning ... and later escorted back to his home.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/29/gerard-depardieu-dui-detained-drunk-driving-scooter-paris-france/#ixzz2DfsA0UzP

EX "SONS OF ANARCHY" STAR NOT on Drugs During Landlady Murder

Former "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis did not have drugs -- of any kind -- in his system when he killed his landlady and then fell off a roof to his death ... this according to the autopsy report.

Lewis' autopsy results were released Thursday, and revealed he was clean of alcohol and drugs during the bizarre incident back in September.

As TMZ previously reported, Lewis had been released from jail just 6 days before the killings of 81-year-old Catherine Davis, and her cat, in L.A.'s Los Feliz neighborhood. His rap sheet included a string of drug-related crimes.

One strange note from the autopsy report -- Lewis' body had nail marks on both sides of his neck, and he appeared to have suffered partial strangulation.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/29/johnny-lewis-sons-of-anarchy-murder-landlady-autopsy-report-no-drugs/#ixzz2DfrBCskd

Nick Gordon Arrested for Reckless Driving

The same day Bobbi Kristina crashed her car into a series of trees and was cited for an illegal lane change, the 18-year old's ex-fiance got himself booked for an even worse example of driving.

Nick Gordon was arrested in Alpharetta, Georgia last night for going 82 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone.

Gordon was basically adopted by Whitney Houston at a very young age and was raised as Bobbi Kristina's brother.

But the pair struck up a romance at some point in the last year or so. They revealed their engagement on the family's reality show, but Gordon Tweeted over the weekend that he and Bobbi are now only friends.

Read more: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/nick-gordon-arrested-for-reckless-driving/

New York University Stands by James Franco in Defamation Lawsuit - truth vs. opinion

A defamation lawsuit brought by a former New York University professor against James Franco has taken a turn towards the epistemological, examining the difference between a provable falsity and a matter of opinion.

In September, Jose Angel Santana took Franco to court after the actor allegedly made "disparaging and inaccurate public statements" against Santana after receiving a "D" in his class in 2010. The plaintiff, once described on NYU's faculty page as being the founder of a Santa Barbara youth center whose focus was to "create a safe place for young people to express themselves without fear of judgment" called Franco "a bully" for comments the actor made in the press about how he was an "awful" teacher.

The nature of truth vs. opinion has stumped philosophers, art students and others for centuries. Now, a judge is tasked with examining a few of Franco's statements that Santana alleges are libelous.
Here's one example of a statement in controversy: Franco said during an interview that Santana was "awful," adding "I didn’t feel like I needed to waste my time with a bad teacher.”
Both sides have a different reading on this statement.
According to Santana, "Franco's reason(s) for not attending Plaintiff's class is also a fact that can be proven true or false... Notably, Franco had previously cited his work on the movie 127 Hours as the reason he was unable to attend plaintiff's class."

But according to NYU, "Franco's description of Santana as 'awful' does not have a precise meaning, nor...is it capable of being proven true or false."

The school also addresses Franco's other statements -- e.g. "No teacher will ever be fired from NYU for giving a student a D," and "[Santana] wasn't fired [from NYU], he was asked not to come back after three years because they didn't think he was a good teacher."

These statements were "clearly rhetorical hyperbole," says NYU.

Just in case a judge agrees with the art professor's analysis of truth and opinion, NYU also attempts another way to escape the lawsuit -- arguing that it isn't responsible for what Franco said.

"Franco's comments were made in response to a reporter's question during a question-and-answer session in advance of a screening of Franco's new film," says the school. "When considering the forum in which the comments were made, as well as the fact that Franco is a famous actor and director who has many duties and responsibilities outside the scope of his employment as an adjunct professor at NYU, no reasonable person would conclude that the statements were made in the scope of his NYU employment."

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/new-york-university-stands-by-395003

Inside the $20 Million Battle Over Malibu's Broad Beach

With players like Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman and Pierce Brosnan seeing their oceanfront slipping into the Pacific, the costly plan to refill Broad Beach launches a wave of controversy.

Modern Family co-creator Steven Levitan moved his own family to Broad Beach a decade ago, lured by its pristine water, killer views and -- perhaps most of all -- by its wide swaths of sand, perfect for jogging and touch football. But these days, Malibu's most secluded stretch of oceanfront real estate isn't exactly living up to its name.

"You can't walk down the beach, except when the tide is very low," Levitan says. Erosion has caused Broad's sand -- including its beloved Martha's Vineyard-esque dunes -- to wash almost entirely away, its namesake width diminishing to a narrow nub. This has threatened houses and required the installation of an unsightly emergency rock seawall. Levitan now finds himself at the center of one of the biggest turf wars in Malibu history, as Broad Beach has become the flashpoint of a cresting controversy over sand, surf and septic tanks. It's pitting the shore's wealthy, well-connected homeowners -- among them Steven Spielberg, Michael Ovitz, Dustin Hoffman and Ray Romano -- against a band of environmentalists, public access advocates, scientists and government officials.

The source of the conflict: the residents' ambitious $20 million proposal to dramatically reshape the area by dredging in 600,000 cubic yards of sand from one of several targeted "borrow sites" at the bottom of the ocean. (They have ranged from Ventura Harbor in the north down to Dockweiler Beach and Manhattan Beach in L.A. County.) Homeowners have hired engineers...

But opponents believe the residents' plan is merely a shortsighted scheme that will primarily benefit property owners, if it works at all, and may well incur disastrous side effects for the coastline. "What they are proposing is just going to exacerbate the problem," says Mark Abramson, senior watershed adviser at the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation. There is a widespread belief that the homeowners' proposal is not a magnanimous gesture offered to a cash-crunched state. Rather, they see it as a self-serving one designed to enhance the beachfront of a wealthy few (the beach has 114 homes in all with an average price of $7.8 million). Many also argue that the houses themselves have contributed to the erosion by suffocating the natural flow of sediment due to the structures' shoulder-to-shoulder development over the decades -- a theory that the property owners dispute. For her part, California Coastal Commission engineer Lesley Ewing believes a number of factors are at work, including the past damming of nearby Trancas Creek as well as larger changes in general wave pattern behavior against Broad's shore.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-dustin-hoffman-stars-395131

Beastie Boys Seek to Drop Bomb on 'Paul's Boutique' Sampling Lawsuit

The group asks a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed the day before Adam Yauch died because casual observers won't be able to identify the source of samples.

TufAmerica, a record label, filed its complaint the day before Adam Yauch died, which led to delay in a response.

On Monday, the group's lawyers asked a judge to find that the plaintiffs can't establish substantial similarity between original recordings  and the Beasties' work, and even if TufAmerica can support copyright infringement claims, to limit the liability thanks to the fact that License to Ill and Paul's Boutique came out more than two decades ago.

The crux of the dispute is that before the Beastie Boys used copyrighted samples on their hit albums, they allegedly needed but failed to get authorization.

For years, unauthorized sampling in hip-hop was ignored, but that's no longer the case. One explanation might be that record labels are looking for new revenue sources. Another explanation -- with more provocative implications -- is that advancing musicology technologies are giving potential plaintiffs greater power to trace sampling sources.

Whatever the reason, the attorneys for the Beastie Boys hint that a fuller explanation is in order.
               "What precipitated Plaintiff to bring this action two decades after the release of the songs in question, and the day before the passing of defendant Adam Yauch, is not explained. Plaintiff is attempting to sidestep the Copyright Act's three-year statute of limitations and the defenses of laches and estoppel in light of its decades-long delay in taking any action."

The lawsuit charges the Beastie Boys with incorporating the recordings "Say What" and "Drop the Bomb," performed by the group Trouble Funk, into songs such as "Shadrack," "Car Thief," "Hold It Now Hit It" and "The New Style."

According to the motion to dismiss:
                 "Any claim for copyright infringement would accrue when Plaintiff knew or had reason to know of the injury, and Plaintiff's claims would be time-barred because the songs "Hold It Now Hit It," "The New Style," "Shadrach" and "Car Thief" are hip hop classics and have been played for nearly a quarter of a century in concerts, on the radio, by the public and in public venues."

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/beastie-boys-seek-drop-bomb-395012

And yet more Crimes changed to LINDSAY LOHAN today!

She'll face a total of 4 new criminal charges on the same day on different coasts.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Santa Monica City Attorney will charge Lindsay TODAY with 3 CRIMES in connection with her car accident last June on Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica.  After ramming her Porsche into a big rig, she lied to cops, telling them she was the passenger in the car when in fact she was the driver.

Lindsay will be charged with:

-- giving false information to a peace officer ... punishable by up to 6 months in jail.
-- obstructing or resisting a police officer in the performance of his duty ... punishable by 1 year in jail.
-- reckless driving ... punishable by 90 days in jail.

As we first reported, when Lindsay is arraigned in L.A. -- probably next week -- the judge will revoke her probation in the jewelry heist case and set a hearing to determine if she will go to jail for a long period of time.  One of the conditions of probation is that Lindsay must obey all laws.

Speaking of which ... her arrest this morning in NYC for assault (crime #4) could end up triggering a second reason to revoke her probation.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/29/lindsay-lohan-charged-crime-lying-to-police-cops-reckless-driving-los-angeles-new-york-city/#ixzz2DdOvGaAR

Lindsay Lohan arrested after allegedly punching female

 In the face at Avenue nightclub in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood Lindsay Lohan arrested after allegedly punching female.

Lindsay Lohan left a New York City police stationhouse with a coat over her head early Thursday. The trouble doll was arrested, yet again, on Thursday morning for an alleged assault inside a Chelsea nightclub. Cops say the Liz & Dick star smacked Tiffany Eve Mitchell while they were inside Avenue in Manhattan.

Trouble-magnet Lindsay Lohan was busted yet again early Thursday in a chic Manhattan nightclub after punching another woman, police sources said.
“Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?” the 26-year-old starlet said, according to TMZ.com, after cops slapped on the handcuffs outside the Chelsea hotspot Avenue around 4 a.m.
The “Mean Girls” star, 26, was bolting from the nightclub in a friend’s car when police stopped her and brought her to the 10th Precinct stationhouse, the celebrity web site reported.

Her alleged victim, Tiffany Eve Mitchell, 28, was also questioned at the W. 20th St. police station, but was released.

Lohan was issued a desk appearance ticket and is due in court Jan. 11. Later, she was rushed out of the stationhouse with a coat covering her head.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/lindsay-lohan-fight-manhattan-nightclub-article-1.1209996#ixzz2DdN20NEK

Hostess Judge Pondering Approval of Twinkie-Maker Wind-Down

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, scheduled a hearing today to consider Hostess’s request to close and its bid to pay as much as $1.75 million in incentive bonuses to 19 senior managers during the wind-down.

Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is asking a judge for final approval of its plan to cease operations under current management, while members of the bakers’ union want a Chapter 11 trustee to oversee its wind-down.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, scheduled a hearing today to consider Hostess’s request to close and its bid to pay as much as $1.75 million in incentive bonuses to 19 senior managers during the wind-down.

Drain granted Hostess interim approval at a Nov. 21 hearing after last-minute mediation with its bakers’ union failed to resolve a contract dispute, leaving more than 18,000 jobs at risk. Drain had urged the mediation on Nov. 19 to keep the foundering company afloat.

Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, said it was forced to opt for liquidation after the union went on strike Nov. 9. The union, representing about 5,000 Hostess workers, walked out after Drain imposed contract concessions opposed by 92 percent of the union’s members. The union and a pension fund asked the judge to appoint a trustee to take control of the wind-down.

“A Chapter 11 trustee must be appointed to oversee the debtors’ orderly liquidation and protect the best interest of creditors,” according to a Nov. 27 filing by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union and the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund.

Hostess said the proposal to appoint a trustee contains “serious legal deficiencies” and asked the judge to postpone consideration of the request.

Hostess sought court protection in January, its second time in bankruptcy, listing assets of $982 million and debt of $1.43 billion. The 82-year-old maker of Hostess CupCakes, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos has endured years of declining sales as Americans turned to rivals’ snacks and breads, while ingredient costs and labor expenses climbed.

Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-29/hostess-judge-to-ponder-approval-of-twinkie-maker-wind-down.html

'Melrose Place' actress guilty of vehicular homicide in N.J. crash

Former "Melrose Place" actress Amy Locane-Bovenizer, 40, is taken into custody after jurors in Somerville, N.J., convicted her of vehicular homicide. At left is her attorney Ellen Torregrossa-O'Connor. (Robert Sciarrino / Newark Star Ledger / November 27, 2012)

Amy Locane-Bovenizer was found guilty Tuesday of vehicular homicide related to a June 2010 accident that left a 60-year-old woman dead in central New Jersey.

The conviction on that charge and a separate one of assault by auto capped a trial that ran about a month and a half and saw some 50 people take the stand. Locane-Bovenizer was not one of them.

According to the prosecution, the community-theater actress was drinking at a cast party and then later at a barbecue she attended with her family before hitting the road alone in her SUV.

Prosecutors said the actress had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit and was traveling 53 mph in a 35-mph zone when her SUV slammed into a sedan that was turning left, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported.

Killed in the accident was passenger Helene Seeman. Her husband, driver Fred Seeman, was seriously hurt, spurring the assault-by-auto charge.

Locane-Bovenizer was taken into custody after her bail was revoked. The mother of two faces five to 10 years in prison on the vehicular homicide count and three to five on the assault by auto. She must serve at least 85% of her sentence before she's eligible for parole, according to the Star-Ledger, and the sentences might run consecutively.

Locane-Bovenizer was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter, a more serious charge. Sentencing is set for March 1.

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-melrose-place-actress-guilty-amy-locane-bovenizer,0,4095216.story

Celebrity 'swatting' problem may be tough to swat

Simon Cowell, Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher and Miley Cyrus are all victims of the hoax known as 'swatting.' No one's been arrested, and laws haven't caught up.

The distress call came Sunday around 1 p.m.: emergency in Beverly Hills. Someone was being held hostage at "Simon Cowell's." The victim, reported a female caller, was tied up with duct tape inside a bathroom at the brash British "X Factor" judge's hillside mansion.

A similar call reached the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Oct. 10 before 2 a.m. Someone inside a gated Calabasas mansion reported shots fired and said the gunman was threatening residents, making clear he'd put police in his cross hairs when they showed up.

Unbeknown to sheriff's deputies, that mansion belonged to the most famous teenager on the planet, Justin Bieber. Multiple squad cars were scrambled and heavily armed deputies arrived. They swept Bieber's residence and two others on the street before discovering it was all a hoax. The pop star, on tour at the time, was nowhere near the mansion.

Cowell was home when Beverly Hills police arrived at his residence. But there was no hostage negotiation, no armed standoff, nor were any arrests made. "The dispatcher believed the call was a hoax," said Lt. Lincoln Hoshino of the Beverly Hills Police Department.

Count Bieber and Cowell as the latest high-profile victims of "swatting," a fast-growing phenomenon masterminded by anonymous mischief-makers who alert police to a bogus crime situation, prompting a tactical response — sometimes by SWAT officers — that involves a high-risk search for phantom assailants. Several officers have already been injured responding to such calls, and officials, including Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, fear that it's only a matter of time before events turn deadly.

"Swatting is a very real problem for those in the public eye," said Blair Berk, a criminal lawyer who has represented stars including Mel Gibson, Kanye West and Lindsay Lohan. "It is only a matter of time before someone dies because of this stupidity."

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-1128-swatting-celebs-20121128,0,3206670.story

'Survivor' Financial Consultant Sues Seeking $14 Million in Profits

Layne Leslie Britton, who once served as a business affairs VP at NBC and CBS before becoming a financial consultant on the television project that ultimately became Survivor, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Conrad Riggs and his Cloudbreak Entertainment. Britton claims Riggs, the former partner of Survivor creator Mark Burnett, who previously was involved in litigation over profits from the CBS franchise, cheated him out of at least $14 million.

Read Full Complaint here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Documents/ESQ/bc496298.pdf

Riggs later parted ways with Burnett and sued his former partner in a nasty litigation that lasted years. The case settled in March but Britton claims that the Burnett litigation revealed that Riggs had spent part of his time with the company "scheming to appropriate an even larger share of Burnett's earnings to himself by not paying Britton his fair and agreed upon share of earnings that Burnett paid to Riggs — earnings that Riggs would not have made had it not been for the business advice and consultation services provided by Briton."

The complaint, filed by John Schaeffer and Randy Merritt at LA's Lathrop & Gage, alleges causes of action for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/survivor-financial-consultant-sues-seeking-394930

'The Hobbit' Nielsen Producer in Legal Fight Against 'Age of the Hobbits'

Warner Bros. pushes for a restraining order against an alleged trademark infringer by pointing to a study conducted about "Hobbit" confusion.

Earlier this month, producers of The Hobbit sued the studio behind the low-budget movie Age of the Hobbits. To prevail on a trademark infringement claim, the producers will need to show a likelihood that consumers will be confused about the origin of the so-called "mockbuster." And to show that, new court documents reveal they will present a view of consumers as being both semi-sophisticated and semi-gullible — able to identify The Hobbit as being connected to Warner Bros. or Tolkien or Jackson, yet not able to distinguish Age of the Hobbits from these same entities.

From Nielsen National Research Group, which was commissioned by Hobbit producers to investigate the possible confusion. The results were published in court papers this week as the plaintiffs push for a temporary restraining order enjoining the release of Age of the Hobbits to prevent what they warn will be "irreparable harm" should the two films come out at roughly the same time.

Notwithstanding that defense, according to the Hobbit producers' legal papers, Asylum is alleged to have made some recent tweaks to its forthcoming movie, modifying the artwork used to promote its film on its website and on Netflix. The new art features the lead actors of Age of the Hobbits above the title, has them pictured, and features other small differences, potentially so that consumers would be less confused.

So the plaintiffs took that new artwork and asked Nielsen conduct a survey, presenting it to consumers as DVD cover art. Nielsen also took a second image where the only thing that changed was the title — instead of Age of the Hobbits, consumers were presented with Age of the Java Men.

When presented with the "Test Group" and asked who made or distributed Age of the Hobbits, about 30 percent of respondents answered Warner Bros., New Line, MGM, Saul Zaentz Co., J.R.R. Tolkien, or Peter Jackson.
When presented with the "Control Group," and asked who made or distributed Age of the Java Men, that number dropped to 6.42 percent.

In short, the plaintiffs say that up to a quarter of consumers fit that semi-sophisticated, semi-gullible demographic.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/hobbit-trademark-lawsuit-producers-enlist-394685

Lawsuit: Black Keys Settle Home Depot, Pizza Hut

The Black Keys have reached a settlement in their copyright infringement lawsuit against Home Depot and Pizza Hut, The Associated Press reports.

The band consisting of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney sued the companies in June, alleging misuse of the hit songs "Lonely Boy" in a Home Depot commercial promoting power tools and "Gold on the Ceiling" in a Pizza Hut spot. The tracks appeared on the Keys' most recent album, El Camino, which has sold more than one million copies since it dropped last year.

Auerbach and Carney sought unspecified damages upward of $75,000 each as well as an order blocking the songs' continued use in the ads, which included no vocals. Brian Burton, the musician known as "Danger Mouse," also sued the home-repair chain and the pizza purveyor.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/black-keys-settle-home-depot-395001

Genevieve Sabourin, Alec Baldwin's alleged stalker arrested again

Canadian actress Genevieve Sabourin has been accused of bombarding the 30 Rock star with emails and making unwelcome visits to his New York home after they enjoyed a night out together in 2010.

She was taken into custody outside his Manhattan property on suspicion of harassment and stalking charges in April (12) and later hit with a restraining order barring her from contacting Baldwin or his partner Hilaria Thomas .

However, Sabourin recently broke that agreement and was arrested after a hearing at the Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday.

Read More: http://www.hollywood.com/news/Alec_Baldwins_alleged_stalker_arrested_again/45101850

Anchor Bay Seeks $3 Million Malibu Home as Penalty for 'U.N.C.L.E.' Deception

Starz subsidiary put up $625,000 for rights to a classic 1960s TV show, but never got paid - and is now suing for the property instead.

It's no ordinary property.
The DVD distribution arm of Starz Media is now claiming the property as the price for having been duped into thinking it held rights to the classic TV series, Man From U.N.C.L.E.

More than six years ago, Anchor Bay was approached by a woman named Lindsay Dunlap, who got the company to fork over $625,000 for exclusive licensing rights to master recordings on U.N.C.L.E. plus DVD bonus extras. All was fine until Warner Bros. alerted Anchor Bay that rights to the 1960s TV show about international espionage didn't actually belong to Dunlap.

Unfortunately, getting a headline and getting a 9-figure check from a defendant are two different things. Six years after Anchor Bay put up money for nothing, the company is still attempting to be made whole.

Now, in a pre-Thanksgiving gambit, Anchor Bay has filed another lawsuit in LA Superior Court against Dunlap as well as the John Yuka & Giulia Family Trust.

According to the complaint, during the midst of an earlier legal action, Dunlap purported to "quitclaim" the Malibu home to Yuka. Essentially, that means she terminated her right to the property to someone else.

Anchor Bay alleges it was just another fraud perpetrated by Dunlap. The company says the transferring of the property "was designed to hinder and delay judgment collection by STARZ."

And it points to this funny line of questioning of Dunlap in a debtor proceeding:
Q: So you quitclaimed it to?
A: John Yuka Trust
Q: Okay. What consideration did John Yuka Family Trust give you for transferring the property?
A: It was in lieu of a large debt.
Q:  Debt that you owed to the John Yuka Family Trust?
A: One of the members of that trust.
Q: What member?
A: John
Q: John Yuka?
A: John
Q: John. What's John's last name?
A: Minghella
Q: That's your ex-husband, right?
A: Yes
Q: And what debt did you owe Mr. Minghella?
A: My best estimate, in the way I value it because he gave up his career for me, millions of dollars.
Q: So you gave him a house for that?
A: Yes.

According to the latest lawsuit, Dunlap continues to reside at this same property originally purchased for more than $3 million "for free." Anchor Bay, having been disappointed out of U.N.C.L.E. rights, now sees it as a consolation prize.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/anchor-bay-uncle-suit-seeks-394160

Martin Scorsese Defends Taking 22 Years and Counting to Direct 'Silence'

In response to a lawsuit over his decision to direct "Wolf of Wall Street," the famed director's lawyers say that Cecchi Gori has "manufactured specious claims" instead of being satisfied with the $3.5 million he's given the film company to do "nothing other than waiting."

If Martin Scorsese ever directs Silence, based on an award-winning Japanese novel by Shusaku Endo about the persecution of a Jesuit missionary in 17th Century Japan, it will happen after an almost epic amount of litigation and dealmaking.

Read Complaint: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Documents/ESQ/scorcese1.pdf

In reaction, Scorsese's reps called the lawsuit "shocking" and the claims "absurd," but Scorsese's lawyers have now filed court papers that confirm much of the complicated back story with some additional information. In the last two decades, there's been two prior lawsuits and five deal amendments over this film. Scorsese says he has already given the plaintiffs $3.5 million to wait on Silence.

So why has it taken 22 years and counting for Scorsese to direct Silence?

The director confirms that in 1990, he entered into a written agreement to provide his services on the film. In 1998, there was an amendment to the agreement where Scorsese agreed it would be his third picture after Kundin.

Scorsese then directed Bringing out the Dead in 1999. He directed Gangs of New York in 2002, The Aviator in 2004, The Departed in 2006, Shutter Island in 2010 and Hugo in 2011.

Scorsese says he was finally preparing to make Silence in 2007 only to see Nunnari sue Cecchi Gori claiming film rights to the novel. Scorsese says that although he wasn't directly a party to the lawsuit, "as a result of the claims alleged in that lawsuit, there was a cloud on the title to the Picture and Defendants were prevented from producing and directing the Picture" until the rights issue was resolved.

But Scorsese now says those allegations are "contrary to the plain language of the 2011 Agreement which states that Scorsese was still attempting to procure financing at the time the  2011 Agreement was executed, and that the commencement of production in 2012 was contingent on such financing being made available."

In other words, Scorsese says that without the money lined up, he wasn't contractually obligated to finally get started on Silence.

And if he's wrong? Scorsese has already paid $3.5 million to hold off on Silence so he could first direct The Departed and Shutter Island. According to Cecchi Gori, Scorsese owes an additional $1.5 million, the value of a producer's fee, and 20 percent of his back-end participation on Hugo. And now, Cecchi Gori wants damages for Scorsese's decision to put Wolf of Wall Street ahead in the pecking order. Potentially, that's a lot to pay to stay Silence all these years.

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/martin-scorsese-defends-taking-22-394439

'70S SHOW' STAR Lisa Robin Kelly Arrested for Assault

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, Kelly -- who played Eric Foreman's sister on the sitcom -- and a male (identified as her husband) were each arrested last night following a violent incident at their home in which they allegedly assaulted each other.

Cops say there were no visible injuries -- and no drugs or alcohol were involved.

Both Kelly and the 61-year-old man are still in custody.

Kelly is no stranger to the law -- she was busted for spousal abuse back in March (the charges were eventually dropped) ... and she pled guilty to DUI back in 2010.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/27/70s-showlisa-robin-kelly-arrested-assault/#ixzz2DS4kRwEV

ELMO ACCUSER #3 SUES He Plied Me with Booze

Kevin Clash -- the former voice of Elmo -- used alcohol as a precursor to oral sex with an underage boy ... this according to a new lawsuit that has just been filed by a THIRD accuser.

According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan and obtained by TMZ, the alleged victim met Clash on a gay phone chat line when he was 16 and Clash was approximately 40.

The accuser -- now 28 -- says he was in NYC pursuing modeling opportunities when Clash invited him to his swanky NYC apartment, which was strewn with Elmo dolls and photos of Elmo with famous people, including Beyonce and Tyra Banks.

During the encounter, the accuser -- who refers to himself as John Doe -- claims Clash plied him with alcohol and "groomed him," and then engaged in sexual contact that included "oral sex and digital penetration of John's anus."

Read Complaint here: http://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/1127_clash.pdf
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/11/27/kevin-clash-voice-of-elmo-underage-sex-lawsuit-third-accuser/

Woman Rides Manatee and gets Arrested in Fl.

Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, 53, mounted the endangered marine mammal September 30, was arrested Saturday on a charge of violating the Sunshine State’s Manatee Sanctuary Act.

She turned herself in to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida shortly after authorities released pictures of her atop the creature, according to reports.

“[Gutierrez explained] she is new to the area and did not realize it was against the law to touch or harass manatees,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

An arrest warrant was issued for Gutierrez Saturday. She was taken into custody while working at Sears in St. Petersburg, according to law enforcement officials.

Witnesses provided deputies with photos of Gutierrez on her joyride and a description, but they were unable to locate her until she turned herself in.

FYI, the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act states:

“It is unlawful for any person at any time, by any means, or in any manner intentionally or negligently to annoy, molest, harass, or disturb or attempt to molest, harass, or disturb any Manatee.”

Read More: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/woman-rides-manatee-gets-arrested-in-florida/

US: Innovention Toys wins legal battle over Laser Board Game

Jury awards $1.6 million in damages to owner of patented laser board game.
Innovention Toys has won a legal battle against MGA Entertainment in the US.

A Louisiana federal jury has awarded nearly $1.6 million in damages to the game company, owned by UCCS professor Michael Larson (pictured), reports The Colorado Springs Business Journal.

Innovention accused MGA Entertainment of copying its patented laser beam strategy board game, Khet. A five-year court case ensued.

Throughout the trial, retail sales of Khet were allowed to continue, while MGA had to stop selling its Laser Battle game.

“The verdict was a long time coming, but we’re gratified that the jury recognised that MGA copied our laser game,” said Larson, Khet developer and co-founder of Innovention.

Larson said Khet was set to sell 100,000 units in 2011, around $3.4 million in sales.

Khet allows players to 'manipulate reflective and non-reflective pieces in conjunction with an on-board laser beam'.

Read More: http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/37699/US-Innovention-wins-legal-battle-against-MGA