Q&A: David Quinto, the lawyer who guards the door at the Oscars

By Matthew Belloni

Attention Academy Award winners: David Quinto will sue you if you sell your Oscar. He’ll sue you if you try to sell someone else’s Oscar, or if you make a fake Oscar, or even if you call yourself an Oscar winner. A partner at L.A.'s Quinn Emanuel, Quinto (along with Academy general counsel John Quinn) aggressively protects the Academy's copyrights and trademarks worldwide. And on Sunday night he'll be guarding the door at the Kodak Theatre. Beware.  

THR, Esq.: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen someone do to the Oscar statuette?

David Quinto: There are so many! Somebody was selling Oscars with, uh, rather large phalluses. And there was a real Oscar recovered in a drug bust, which was a little unusual. It’s in (Academy in-house lawyer) Scott Miller’s office.

THR, Esq.: The Academy has a reputation for being ultra-aggressive in pursuing infringers. Why?

Power Lawyers returns! Expands!

We're happy to announce that Power Lawyers, our annual big blowout issue of The Hollywood Reporter spotlighting the Top 100 most influential entertainment attorneys in America, will return this summer. The 4th annual Power Lawyers issue hits newsstands and the Web on July 16.

The Power Lawyers breakfast will return as well, and we're expanding it a bit by moving it to the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. Don't worry, it'll still be just as exclusive -- invites go only to those lawyers who make the list, as well as our annual Raising the Bar honoree, guest speaker, various dignitaries and our generous sponsors -- but with a slightly bigger room we'll be able to include a few more studio execs as well. We'll post more info about the event as it nears.

Think you're a Power Lawyer? We'll start doing our research and taking submissions in March, but if you can't wait that long, email us at matthew.belloni@thr.com.

 

Power Lawyers 2009 -- the slideshow

By Matthew Belloni

Thanks to all who made our 3rd annual Power Lawyers issue and breakfast a success. Here's the list, the coverage of the event and a slideshow of photos. 

Power Lawyers 2009

By Matthew Belloni

It's Lawyer Christmas in Hollywood today. Our annual look at the 100 most influential attorneys in entertainment is out. Check out the list here (which includes Jake Bloom, Bert Fields and Patty Glaser, pictured above as the most expensive tractor drivers in history), as well as a Q&A with Warner Bros. president of worldwide business affairs Steve Spira, who is getting THR's Raising the Bar Studio Lawyer Award at today's Power Lawyers breakfast. And we also included a look at some of Hollywood's top mediators, as well as two attorneys who put their skills to use winning CBS's "The Amazing Race."

How bad is the deal landscape? Entertainment lawyers sound off

By Eriq Gardner

Entertainment lawyer Gordon Firemark pointed on his blog yesterday a chilling memo from James Jones of Premiere Talent that has been circulating through Hollywood. 

This won't come as a shocker to anyone in the business, but the memo paints a dire portrait of an industry in turmoil as studios and networks cut back budgets. Firemark comments, "Sadly, this situation 'trickles down' to all entertainment industry workers, including writers, directors, crew, and even professionals like accountants, lawyers and the like."

Yes, theatrical boxoffice receipts are close to 12 percent ahead of last year's numbers, according to Box Office Mojo.But this doesn't tell the whole story.

In our conversations with industry lawyers, the number one topic of conversation is increasingly the woeful state of the industry. 

Hollywood's biggest stars are being forced into deals that would have seemed outlandish a few years earlier. Here are some choice quotes from some of the top talent lawyers we've interviewed for our upcoming Power Lawyers issue:

• "The financial structure of the TV and film industry is changing, and the pressures go well beyond just fee structures in contracts. We're also talking about conditions of employment, including trailers, travel, and photos. Just about everything is being cut back, especially the perks. Different clients react very differently to this news. It's becoming very hard for dealmakers."
• "Wow, I feel lucky just to have survived the last year. This is as challenging an economic environment as I've ever seen. I have to say I find what's been going on to be rather inexplicable."
• "Studios are getting more conservative on everything. The whole business is getting crunched. I think that everybody is challenged to be more creative in dealmaking because quotes really don't mean much these days."
• "I'm hoping with resolution with all of the guild issues, there will be some more stability in the marketplace and we'll see more stuff in production. Life will be pretty difficult otherwise."
• "What I'm seeing is more separation between the A++ clients and everyone else. Even for star clients who work in the feature market, there's just less work. Plus, a lot of movies being made today are animated and the compensation for that is nothing like what they would get on a live action picture."
• "As studios cut back on their production budget, it encourages talent to think of alternative ways to get into the distribution game and monetize their work. In some ways, studios are fostering competition for themselves and absolutely shooting themselves in the foot." 

Power Lawyers 2009

By Matthew Belloni

It's that time of year again: we've just released the nomination form for the Hollywood Reporter's annual Power Lawyers special issue highlighting the top entertainment and media attorneys in America.

Click here for this year's form.

Same drill as previous years: nominations will be accepted until May 1; only outside counsel are eligible (no in-house studio, network or label attorneys); accomplishments during the past year are heavily weighted; please be as specific as possible on the form.

We're also excited to announce the return of the Power Lawyers Power Breakfast, which will take place on July 24 (the same day the issue publishes). If you're interested in sponsoring the breakfast, give Wayne Roche a call at 646-654-5761. Here are some photos from last year's fantastic event and last year's full Power Lawyers list.

Check back here for the coming announcement of our annual Raising the Bar Studio Lawyer Award, which honors excellence among business or legal affairs executives at a film or television studio. 

Power Lawyers: The Nomination Form

Posted by Matthew Belloni

It's that time of year! We're happy to announce the return of Power Lawyers, our second annual look at the most influential entertainment and media attorneys in America. This year's special issue publishes in The Hollywood Reporter on July 25 (to peruse last year's list, click here), and nominations will be accepted for the next three weeks.

Rules are the same as last year: Only outside counsel are eligible (no in-house studio/network/label lawyers allowed); accomplishments from the past year are weighted most heavily; and nominations will be vetted by THR writers and editors, who are making their own nominations as well.

Here's the  nomination formf . Thanks for participating!