Warner Bros. Wins Key Legal Ruling Impacting All 'Wizard of Oz' Remakes

In 1900, L. Frank Baum wrote the famous children's novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It's easy to assume that since the book was published more than 110 years ago, the characters of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the rest are safely in the public domain.
Or so Hollywood hopes. Many movie studios are in the midst of re-adapting the classic. But the truth about what's in the public domain and what's not may be a little murky, thanks to a decision on Tuesday by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Warner Bros. owns the rights to the 1939 MGM movie, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland.

FULL STORY http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/warner-bros-wins-key-legal-208255

Mickey Rooney Seeking to Revive Career at Age 90

Mickey Rooney must revive his show business career soon or he will die "in very short order," the lawyer appointed to oversee the 90-year-old actor's affairs told CNN Friday.

"He's available, he's marketable and we're going to get him working," said Michael Augustine.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz cleared the way for a Rooney resurgence Friday by appointing Augustine as permanent conservator, a move Rooney said he needed to protect him from his stepson and stepdaughter.

Rooney's troubles came to national attention when he delivered emotional testimony to Congress earlier this month in which he said family members took control of his life, making him "scared, disappointed, yes, and angry."

Augustine, in a CNN interview after Friday's hearing, said he would immediately seek movie, television and commercial roles for Rooney, who he said is in good physical and mental health.

End of Video Store Era Draws Near as Blockbuster Closes 186 Stores

Blockbuster closing 186 stores around the U.S. in anticipation of its upcoming April auction.

The video and game rental company stated in court filings that it plans to leave those properties by the end of the month, notes the Los Angeles Times.

Once the dominant home video provider, Blockbuster has failed to keep up with competitors like Netflix and Redbox. Since filing for bankruptcy in September, the company has struggled through a failed reorganization plan, deep debt and a barrage of lawsuits filed by studios, landlords and more.

Creditors plan to sell Blockbuster to the highest bidder at an auction on April 4.


This comes after rival rental company Hollywood Video which was the largest direct competitor to Blockbuster Video until it was purchased by Movie Gallery in 2005  Movie Gallery (and therefore Hollywood Video) declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2010 announcing an end of corporate operations and a liquidation of all assets.

Dick Tracy Rights Awarded to Warren Beatty

In 2008 Warren Beatty had sued Tribune Media claiming the company was wrong in trying to retain the rights to the crime fighting character which had been assigned to Beatty by a 1985 agreement.  In the 1985 agreement between Beatty and Tribune Media, the rights were retained by Beatty as unless "a certain period of time" lapsed without Beatty producing a new "Tracy" project.  In which case Tribune Media would regain the rights.  According to Beatty he started a Dick Tracy TV project in November of 2008, giving Tribune Media written notice of the project. 

A U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of Beatty in the dispute.  Judge Dean D. Pregerson indicated that by Beatty commencing principal photography on the television project in 2008 was sufficient for Beatty to retain the rights to Dick Tracy.
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Bret Michael Sues Over Tony Awards Accident

According to The Hollywood Reporter a lawsuit has been filed against CBS and Tony Award Productions.  The lawsuit claims that the shows producers are at fault for Bret Michael's on stage injury seen during the show.

The suit, filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, states that Michaels asked producers if they had any instructions about where he should or should not stand during any portion of his performance. They told him he should simply exit from the stage rear after he was done, according to the documents.

 

During the telecasts opening number, Michaels suffered a fractured nose and split lip after he was hit by a large sign descending from the ceiling following Poison's performance of "Nothin' But a Good Time” with the Rock of Ages cast.  

 

The suit states that Michaels was never told the sign piece would be descending or given “any warning of the existence of the dangers it presented.”

 

Six months after the accident, Michaels suffered a near fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage  — bleeding beneath the thin tissue covering the brain — “at the hands of the Tony Awards," the law suit claims.

 

“Through his sheer will to live, Michaels was able to survive this trauma,” the suit reads.

 

Michaels allegations are producers have "failed and refused" to remedy the situation, going as far as to blame him for the incident, claiming he "missed his mark."

 

There was no comment from the network.