Google Buzz could cause legal problems in Hollywood

By Eriq Gardner

Google has been taking a lot of heat since Tuesday's launch of a new social-networking feature called Buzz that allows users to post status updates to contacts and make comments on other people's updates. Most controversially, Google Buzz allows people by default to see who their contacts e-mail and chat with most.

This could be a problem in Hollywood, especially among lawyers and agents.

Sly Stone claims ex-manager cost him $80 million

By Eriq Gardner

It's not uncommon for a musicians to accuse their managers of cheating them out of money, but few complaints come close to the scope of allegations made by funk and soul pioneer Sly Stone against ex-manager Gerald Goldstein on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

According to the complaint, Stone alleges that Goldstein diverted about $80 million in royalties, leaving him "to live hand to mouth, at times homeless and dependent on social security payments."

Stone says that in 1989, he signed what he believed to be a standard management agreement, but the document was allegedly a contract allowing Goldstein to take over all the rights to collect his royalties. For the next 20 years, the musician says he was told there were little or no royalties due and that the IRS had placed liens and levies on his income.

Studios even more afraid of unsolicited scripts

By Eriq Gardner and Matthew Belloni

A few years ago, the rise of the Internet portended a new meritocracy in Hollywood. Agents began scouring websites like MySpace for untapped talent and studios were setting up sites aimed at cultivating creativity. This movement perhaps reached its apex when Diablo Cody, a stripper-turned-blogger-turned-screenwriter whose manager discovered her while searching online for porn, won a best screenplay Oscar for 2007's "Juno."

But over the past year it's become apparent to us from speaking with agents and lawyers that economic conditions, industry consolidation, and legal concerns have caused talent representatives to be a lot less aggressive when it comes to searching for new voices.

Now the Wall Street Journal reports that studios are worried about being sued for stealing ideas and content and have decided they can no longer afford to even look at a script submission unless it comes from an agent or lawyer first. Universal won't even allow visitors to its website to e-mail without freeing the studio from any copyright liability.

Are studios really scared of folks like Christopher Cardillo, the individual we reported on last year who sued NBC Universal, the BBC, and the Travel Channel, after submitting an idea through a website set up to solicit pitches?

These "idea submission" suits are rarely successful. Overreacting to the threat of liability by cutting off access to potential new voices seems counter-intuitive. It would be great to see one studio break from the herd and openly encourage writers to submit their screenplays. Sure, it might prompt a few lawsuits from people who submit and later think a produced movie is too similar to their idea. But it also might lead to the next big movie franchise. Call it an informal "American Idol" for screenwriters.  

Ari Emanuel trying to erase name from 'SuperAgent' iPhone app

By Eriq Gardner

HBO cleared it with WME topper Ari Emanuel before co-opting his persona for the Ari Gold character on "Entourage." The makers of a new iPhone app called "SuperAgent" are learning the hard way what happens when you don't ask Ari nicely.

In "SuperAgent," players assume the identity of a high-powered tenpercenter named "Ari" and manage the career of a mischievous actor named "Vince," just like on "Entourage."

But Emanuel and WME weren't pleased with the game's references to "Ari" and "William Morris." So the agency's pitbull lawyer Patti Glaser sent a cease-and-desist letter to Dublin-based mobile software development firm Factory Six, demanding the company remove the references from the game and its promotional materials.

Factory Six says "SuperAgent" isn't based on the real-life super-agent.

"Ari Emanuel is not that famous outside of Hollywood," Factory Six co-founder Rick Larkin told Forbes.com. "[The lawyers] are the first people to have made the link."

Really? Factory Six names the characters Ari and Vince and pitches the game as taking place at "William Morris" but nobody thought the real-life agent that inspired the HBO show would be pissed?

Forget Ari. We'd guess HBO has an even stronger case against the game. Larkin wouldn't reveal whether the show is based on "Entourage," but that seems pretty obvious. We'll see to see whether HBO says "game over" on this one.

Attention client poachers: follow this case

By Eriq Gardner

We've always been a little surprised by the lack of litigation when top talent clients switch representatives.

It's no secret that Hollywood agents, lawyers and managers have become aggressive in poaching clients recently. Talking to the New Yorker a few years back, WME's Dave Wirtschafter described the way that agencies make come-ons to prospective clients:

"Most stars receive a number of calls each month from agencies who are eager to poach them away from their current representative. The poaching come-ons range from the bald ("That's all he got you?"; "We would never have let you appear in 'Troy'") to the subtle, long-term play. That goes something like this: 'I know you're happy with So-and-So, and I respect you too much to try to make you feel bad about how your career is going. But, in the future, just keep in mind that I'm a huge fan of your work, and that if you ever want access to more material than you're getting now, or just want to be able to exchange ideas with people like Tom and Steven, well, that's something we'd love to facilitate."

Poachers may wish to pay attention to an interesting lawsuit filed in Massachusetts state court this week. The case involves a heralded 21-year-old baseball prospect named Aroldis Chapman who defected from Cuba and has garnered interest from at least 15 major league teams. Last month, Chapman switched his representation, moving from Hendricks Sports Management to Athletes Premier International.

Hendricks is now suing on grounds of tortious interference and unjust enrichment, claiming an investment made of "substantial time and hundreds of thousands of dollars" on behalf of Chapman before API allegedly "made material false and disparaging statements" to Chapman causing him to switch agencies.

In Hollywood, most agents have a story like this to tell. We've seen lawsuits filed by agencies against agents who defect and bring clients with them, as well as a few rare lawsuits that make poaching an issue — the recent Black Eyed Peas case for example — but mostly, poaching instigates nothing more than rivalries and private grumbling.

We're not ready to say anything is about to change. On the strange scale of Hollywood ethics, poaching seems more acceptable than suing over poaching. Then again, if Hendricks wins this case, there certainly could be temptation by some in town to do what they do in baseball—settle scores.