Legal Drama is the Real Drama

There's no business like show business and there is no business like show business litigation. It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog, so what better way to celebrate my grand return than with a look at some of the legal troubles within the film entertainment industry?

First up is the little heard of scandal regarding The Purge franchise. The writer and producers of The Purge have lost the motion to dismiss idea theft charges by one Douglas Jordan-Benel, who claims the concept of the film was stolen from his spec script, titled Settler's Day. Now, both parties have to head to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case seems rather murky and convoluted. When Jordan-Benel submitted his script to various studios, there was an implied contract that he would be compensated if his ideas were to be used, which, obviously, seems to have been broken. However, the people behind The Purge seems to have countered those claims by using California's Anti-SLAPP statute, which is something used to weed out frivolous lawsuits. Under the stature, a judge can throw out a case if he feels the likelihood of the plaintiff winn

ing is slim. Obviously, this didn't work and the court case progressed. Now, Hollywood is always prone to idea theft and intellectual property claims, but this court case, if won by Douglas Jordan-Benel, might open the floodgates and set precedents that will allow many people with small evidence to claim idea t
heft and file lawsuits, which could cost the industry millions in legal fees and settlements.

It's hard for me to judge this situation because I haven't read Settler's Day, but I've seen The First, a horror film about a Neo-Utopian society taking over the United States in the near future, a feat accomplished by allowing the citizens run amok and murder, maim, and plunder for one night out of the year. It's an interesting concept, but in my opinion it was a very mediocre film. However, I must point out that I've seen the same concept used in an old Star Trek episode, a Latin American art-house film, and even an episode of The Powerpuff Girls. Not to mention where this concept seems to have come from, the Spartan practice of Crypteia. My point being is that this concept isn't exactly new or original, therefore if the script of The Purge did copy Settler's Day in more ways than just the premise, I fully support Douglas Jordan-Benel's lawsuit and hope he wins his due royalties and credit. It might affect Hollywood in the long run, but it'll teach the studios that settling and buying can be a lot less of a hassle than nonchalantly walking off with other people's scripts.

Now, here's another interesting case It seems the Zorro trademark was deemed invalid in Europe! Seems Sony Pictures was slapped in the face by the European Union copyright court that stated that the name "Zorro" is not distinctive enough to warrant a trademark. The mess began when Robert Gabell, an American composer, contested Sony's copyright name of Zorro because of his stage musical, titled Z - The Musical of Zorro (Not to be confused with another musical version of Zorro, both of which are getting staged and left and right across Europe, to much audience confusion.) Gabble claims that since character of Zorro comes from two public domain sources (1919 novella and a 1920 film starring Douglas Fairbanks), the story and characters seen in those works are fair game. The court sided with him, and stated that Sony cannot copyright Zorro because it's a public domain property that anyone has access too.

I must say, I wholeheartedly agree with the European Union. Zorro has always been a public property as long as I can remember. I've seen cartoons, films, tv shows, and stage plays based on it long before Sony started making their Zorro films, so I don't understan

d what is so special about their take on the story that warrants a copyright and effectively removing other people's access to it.

Last but not least story I read is a rather ridiculous lawsuit filed by Lionsgate against Ameritrade for using their trademarked line from Dirty Dancing, "nobody puts baby in the corner." The Ameritrade add is a spoof of the famous final scene, showing a banker about to embrace a giant piggy bank, with a caption "Nobody puts your old 401(k) in the corner." Lionsgate claims that they have future plans for this "valuable property" and that Ameritrade is lying to customers by implying they're in partnership with Lionsgate. Now, Ameritrade have launched their own tirade against Lionsgate, essentially saying they're being harassed and their claims of copyright infringement are baseless and overreaching.

I must say, I wholeheartedly agree with Ameritrade. What they did was a parody, which is protected under the 1st Amendment and the Fair Use clause. Lionsgate has no case and it seems to me to just be an excuse to drum up some publicity for a tired old franchise. "Future plans for this valuable property?" Yeah, right!

Well, hope you guys enjoyed this post and tata for now!

~Evgueni Mlodik

In defense of Ike Perlmutter.

Marvel CEO Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter.

A lot has been said about Marvel CEO's Ike Perlmutter's alleged leaked email where he put down the concept of female superhero movies and, of course, the politically correct crowd grabbed their torches and pitchforks and went after him. But I have a question for these keyboard warriors, have they even read his email or even know the basic functions of the film industry?

Now, I do think people are making a bigger deal out of this "scandal" than it truly deserves because it comes on the heels of online community criticizing Marvel for not showcasing their female superhero franchises as much as they could've. Fans' outrage spanned from either casual annoyance or outright accusations of sexism.

The "Holy Trinity" of box office bombs. See a pattern?

But the problem isn't with Marvel or Ike Perlmutter. I think it goes deeper. In my opinion, it goes to directors, writers, and producers of superhero films who seem to think female audiences deserve less than their male counterparts and continuously churned out lesser quality material that in the end destroyed any potential female lead superhero movies lead.

Contrary to popular belief, Perlmutter didn't really say anything sexist or anti-women in his email. The email, addressed to a Sony Executive, simply pointed out how female superhero movies made in the past couple of decades horribly bombed at the box office, and he had a point. Perlmutter listed the notorious bombs Catwoman, Elektra, and Supergirl (and there are many more, like the nearly unwatchable Tank Girl and Red Sonja) and how much money they lost. The only thing more notorious than their box office intake, however, is their awfu quality. The films suffer from horrible writing, bad direction, abysmal acting, and worst of all, incomprehensibly bad writing. None of the female lead superhero movies mentioned by Ike Perlmutter were well received either by critics or the audience, in addition to their flopping at the box office. None of these movies count as "good" movies aside from (or lack there of) their profitability.

A big issue with female superhero films is that we cannot connect with the lead character due to inherently sexist nature of the writing. Why must female superheroes only fight "girly" things? Be it a cosmetic company (Catwoman) or a beauty spa (Elektra), the idiotic pretext begins to alienate the average viewer, as is their equally insipid alter ego person, like Supergirl's sexy uniform boarding schoolgirl. I feel that Perlmutter's email was taken cruelly out of context, because he was specifying WHY those films flopped and the mistakes he would like HIS female superhero movies to avoid because he does not want them to become another pop culture/box office casualty.

Maybe, instead of crucifying Marvel, Disney, Sony, and Ike Perlmutter and dismissing them as "sexist pigs" we need to encourage these people to put in more effort into female superhero movies. If the quality improves, so will the box office intake, but this "self-fullfiling prophecy" schtick of creating subpar movies they know no one will see has to stop now.

~Evgueni Mlodik

Jonathan Tiersten and the Art of Negotiating

JT and I at the 2015 Macabre Faire Film Festival.

I recently had the honor and privilege to interview a great friend of mine and industry veteran, Jonathan Tiersten. He is an actor and singer known for his role in the cult horror franchise Sleepaway Camp and is a staple here in Colorado on the indie music circuit. Jonathan has recently been expanding his film career as an actor and producer and was kind enough to answer several questions I had about negotiating within the entertainment industry.

How would you say deal making and negotiation is different in show business as opposed to other business dealings?

Well, firstly, I would say that it depends on the level of the project.  Indy projects can all types of deals from very casual to very much by the book.  The more money there is involved in a project, the more formal the negotiation tends to be.  One of the main changes I have seen is that in person auditions are becoming less frequent and people are hired on name recognition alone.

How do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating? What tips do you have for new negotiators who are trying to do this? 

It isn't easy.  I very recently had this experience. I think the key is to not take things personally.  Everybody is your friend until they have to write a check.  I think the more detailed you are before you even enter the process the better off you will be.  Preparation goes a long way.  Look for things that might be sticking points and figure out possible resolutions before you even start talking.

How do you handle positioning bargaining tactics?

That is something that, I think, can only come from repetition.  I think the most important thing you can have is your integrity.  That may sound easy on it's face.  I recently spoke with a CEO of  Fortune 100 company and he told me, "Everybody will take free shit, even if it hurts someone else".  I hope he is wrong, but I think it is important to have a good feel for the people you are working with.

Would you say there any dirty tricks a person aspiring to get into entertainment business should know?

I don't know that there are dirty tricks.  I would say that you have to take a leap of faith and be willing to fail.  Learning how to deal with failure is an enormous part of this business.  It never feels good but you have to learn how to use it constructively.  Flying off the handle and having a tantrum or going into a deep depression may seem like the thing to do at the time, but they don't get you anywhere.

What was the most challenging negotiation you've experienced? What was the outcome?

I had a different answer for this question up and until two days ago.  I have been working with a couple of producers in Hollywood who have a feature debuting at The Seattle International Film Festival.  We just met with the aforementioned CEO.  It took me several years to set up the meeting (not to mention build my own resume).  I spent a ridiculous amount of money to get to the meeting and equally as much on the dinner.  Anyway, the CEO went on a roughly three hour monologue about his amazing philanthropic exploits and spectacular business acumen until I finally interjected.  I could not believe the producers had remained silent.  They seemed to be very intimidated  They talked such a tough game when I had spoken with them previously.  At that point the CEO responded by saying, "Okay, tell me how much you need".  They low-balled it and quoted a number about 1/2 of what we had discussed.  He responded by offering less than a quarter of that because he said he does not want it to be his head on the chopping block.  Truth be known the amount of money we were discussing isn't a lot to him.  I am still reeling from the affects.  Answering this question, again, for you makes me want to take heed of my own advice.  I must learn from this.  Right now I cannot say what that lesson is.  I sent a very terse email to the CEO after the meeting and excused myself (permanently) from the negotiation.  He said he would continue to talk to them (the producers) independently which I made a condition of my exit.  I also called the producers and said I was out.  They said that if he indeed invested I was due a finder's fee.  I told them I don't want it.  The CEO also told me to send him the dinner bill so he could reimburse me.  I told him, "Not a chance".  In the end it may seem like I have nothing, but I am pretty sure my integrity is intact and at least they are still negotiating.  It made me realize that I am good at the negotiating part but not so good at the ethical compromise part.  Maybe in my next lifetime. 

To learn more about Jonathan Tiersten and his work, please visit his official site HERE.

~Evgueni Mlodik

Can E.L. James sue for plagiarism when she herself is a plagiarist?

Where (modestly budgeted) dreams are made...

Oh, the Asylum. I suppose a whole separate blogpost will be needed to cover "the little production comp

Subtle, eh?

any that could," but I will try to cover their history in a few brief sentences. The Asylum started out as an indie distribution company that eventually started producing their own low budget straight-to-video features, which gradually devolved into what is now known as a "mockbuster;" an ultra cheap shoddily made rip-off of an upcoming or recent big budget Hollywood film with a DVD artwork that suspiciously resembles the poster for some major theatrical release. While working the night shift at Hollywood Video during my college days, I had to restock such Asylum masterpieces asKing of the Lost World, Pirates of Treasure Island, When a Killer Calls, 18 Year Old Virgin, The Da Vinci Treasure, and last, but not least, The Transmorphers. I will leave you to come up with your own conclusions as to which mock buster represents which Hollywood film.

Sure, you may hate it, but the creators of this
flick are crying themselves all the way to the bank.

Well, it seems now that the Asylum has hit an all new low and churned out their most shameless rip-off yet. As we all know, Fifty Shades of Grey started life as an online fan-fiction of Twilight, re-imagining the Mormon propaganda vampire yarn as a sexually explicit personal fantasy of an S&M relationship as envisioned by a bored housewife, that is the author, E.L. James. So now that the unavoidable "film of the book" has been released and set record box office gross records, The Asylum has to jump on board with a rip-off, using a highly unimaginative and over-used title Bound, which ironically brings to mind another 90s steamy cult flick. As typical for productions from Asylum, he film stars such C-list icon as Charisma Carpenter and newcomer Bryce Draper, along with everyone's favorite "other" Baldwin brother, Daniel, in a pointless role as Charisma's father just shove in another name actor on the DVD cover. The film's plot follows 50 Shades blow by blow, with same basic characters going through the exact same journey, the only difference being the social status swap between the two leads. The similarities are too many too list, in fact, the plot synopsis would work well for either films; two socially different people enter a taboo S&M relationship as the male partner's behest and it serves to the female lead to eventually realize they're incompatible. Granted, it's a plot as old as Skinemax, and we already endured this melodramatic softcore porn in such Zalman King epics as 9 1/2 Weeks and the abysmal Wild Orchid, but I guess Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris predates all of them.

So, the question arises. Why won't E.L. James sue The Asylum for plagiarism as so many other filmmakers have done and won? Well, that is because she is walking a thin line of plagiarism herself, seeing how her book originated as a very kinky Twilight fan fiction. One can even make a chart regarding which character from 50 Shades of Grey corresponds with which Twilight character.

It seems to me that E.L. James is afraid. She is afraid if she will take The Asylum to court, she will not only come off as hypocrite, but she's afraid of setting a precedent. If she sues the producers of Bound for ripping off her work, then why can't Stephenie Meyer sue James (real name Erica Mitchell) for stealing her work? It all seems like a hilarious case of karma, but realistically speaking, James has nothing to worry about, even if she and her agent are probably miffed at such being so shamelessly ripped off. It seems strange that The Asylum would make a title so radically different from the film they ripped off, but that could be due to The Hobbit and The Day the Earth Stood Still fiascos. Therefore, I can't really imagine anyone mistakenly picking up a copy of Bound, imagining it is Fifty Shades, which is The Asylum's entire business formula. Now, I guess Charisma Carpenter fans would be interested, as would fans of softcore porn films, but most of them loathe the E.L. James original, so they probably won't bother with a knock-off. Seems that both The Asylum and E.L. James screwed the pooch in their respective departments.

~Evgueni Mlodik

A Short Interview with Rutanya Alda

Me with Rutanya Alda at an event in Denver.

It is not every day one gets to meet their idol. I am one of the lucky few to have met one of mine, the cult actress Rutanya Alda, who’s beautiful face should be familiar to fans of 70s and 80s films. She played such diverse roles the young bride in the classic The Deer Hunter and Joan Crawford’s hapless personal assistant Carol Anne in the infamous Mommie Dearest. I had the good fortune to meet with Rutanya a number of times and each time it was a revelation. Her stories about the film industry and her days working with such veterans as Brian De Palma, Roman Polanski, and Faye Dunaway are a treasure trove of interesting trivia about Hollywood and how a struggling artist can strive to succeed in the industry. A while ago, I had the privilege to conduct a short interview with Rutanya. It is not terribly long, but her responses are amazing and thought

provoking.

How did you start out in the film industry?
I started out as an extra.  My first job was as a student in Up the DownStaircase with Sandy Dennis.  I did a lot of extra work and also photo doubled for Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, and photo doubled for Barbra Streisand and played a townsperson in Funny Girl, I also did stand in for Anne Francis in Hello, Dolly!

What were your biggest obstacles while establishing yourself?
The obstacles are that there are thousands of people up for the same parts and it is also hard to get seen by casting people if they don’t’  know your work.

What would you say is your biggest accomplishment in the industry? Why?
The major films I have done, including The Deer Hunter, which won an Oscar for best film and the cult classic Mommie Dearest and now Amityville II: The Possession, which is becoming a classic.  I love my early films by Brian de Palma; his unique and original filmmaking in the late 60s/early 70s Greetings and Hi, Mom!; working with wonderful actors  - it’s a collaborative effort. It feels good when one can be in an environment that is collaborative and an actor feels safe to try and be creative in the moment.

What advice would you give to young people fresh out of film school and trying to launch a career in the film industry today?
My advice is if you have a second choice, do it.  The film industry as an actor is really tough and you have to have no choice but to do it. It’s like a virus that you can’t shake. Its the burning desire to express and create.  I often tell people “don’t do it”  and if they take my advice then I think they have saved themselves a lot of pain. If they don’t take my advice, they have the virus and they must do it.  There are hundreds and maybe thousands of people up for one part.  The odds are like the lottery.  So many variables come into why one is cast.  And often the best people are not.  Your age, your color of hair, who you know; silly things that have nothing to do with your talent. Your sanity is often questioned.  Having said all of this, if one must one must.  I certainly had to.  I also think the industry has changed so much.  If one can do one’s own projects, write, film and get it out there -- Being in charge of your own destiny, so to speak, as much as possible, and create, create, create on your own as much as possible so you don’t put your future in someone else’s hands all the time.  I also recommend studying all the time. Keep getting better. Study with good people.  I am still in class 40 years later.  I continue to grow and get better and better as an actress and creative person.

~Evgueni Mlodik

Rosie King may be a good decade younger than me, but she's my hero.

To say that Rosie King's laid back, yet powerful and emotional speech on Ted.com struck a chord with me would be the understatement of the year. I knew that for this particular blog post I would like to address an issue I’ve both struggled with and embraced, something that I do not want to be defined by, but something that has always been a huge part of me and lead me on the path I am on today, even why I enrolled at Full Sail University. Yes, I have autism. A mild degree of it that, I guess, qualifies as Asperger Syndrome, which has effectively altered my social skills and shaped a detailed internal world for me consisting mostly of films and television shows. It’s a world I want to integrate with my “real” surroundings, so a career in the film industry would help me merge the two worlds together.

Rosie King really reminds me of myself, however I was not as brave as she was at sixteen. I would never have openly admitted my autism in public, though I’m pretty sure most people suspected it anyway, even though they were never exactly sympathetic to my predicament. I am also somewhat envious of Rosie’s supportive family, because my parents are staunch believers that autism “doesn’t exist” and that I am just “looking for attention.” Since I don’t want to spoil my relationship with my parents, this is a topic I no longer discuss with them.

I liked that Rosie explained that autism does not fit into one particular stereo-type and not all of us behave like Dustin Hoffman in RainMan. Also, not all of us are math geniuses, I far one, abhor the subject and barely passed it. However, just like Rosie, my autism expresses itself with vivid daydreaming to escape mundane reality and wild creativity and that can barely find an outlet. Since I’m not making any films at the moment, I try to do it through writing, but it’s not enough, so my day-to-day life and schoolwork start suffering.

Will the new Tarantino movie shoot bring in more film business to Colorado?

I suppose you had to have been living under a rock to not have heard that Quentin Tarantino will be shooting his next film. After a series of controversy and false starts, The Hateful Eight will shoot in Telluride, Colorado after theColorado Film Comission, never very receptive to outside productions, offeredTarantinto a $5 million tax incentive to shoot here in December, and now it's touted that the $44 million behemoth is the first major film tobe shot in Colorado since the origial 1969 True Grit. So at long last, the fight is over, right? We Colorado filmmakers have finally scueeded in jump starting a film industry here in Colorado. Something we've been fighting for the good part of the decade. Well... Not so fast.

off, The Hateful Eight is not the first major production to shoot in Colorado since True Grit. That would be the 2009 EddieMurphy flop Imagine That; theprincipal photography of which was done in the highly picturesque city of Denver. The whimsical family movie proved not to be all that whimsical to the people who made it, especially Eddie Murphy. The film ended up only grossing$16 million nationwide against a $55 million budget, effectively putting another nail in Eddie Murphy's career and tainting Colorado as a jinxed place to shoot flops and tax shelter projects, an inside joke I heard from some industry insiders from which I think we are yet to recover. Of course, a big Tarantino blockbuster would be able to change that image and give Colorado a renewed lease on life as a versatile state where all sorts of films can be made. Be it westerns, or family friendly comedies, no matter what their eventual box office intake is.

While most of that may in fact come true, I have some major doubts that this one-off film shoot will change much for Colorado film community. First off, I want to give a first hand account that Colorado is already a very versatile hotbed for filmmakers. Local, filmmakers, that is. I've seen westerns (easiest thing to shoot considering the locale), hip modern indie yarn, films set in Nazi Germany and Soviet Eastern Europe, etc, etc. Most of the people who work here already know this about Colorado, but hardly anyone else does. Also, we're surroundedby such states as Utah and New Mexico, which already have a thriving film industry and got a head start over Colorado, where it has been trying to develop for more than a decade, but many of our conservative house members are less than keen on the idea of turning us into the next Georgia or New Mexico, so whatever bill gets offered every two years to help with tax incentives for filmmakers promptly gets squashed and we never receive any realy, depedenbale moneymakers to set up production here; the Hallmark tv movies, television series, and smaller budgeted studio releases/straight to video fare. These are the projects that keep studios coming back and film people steadily employed in their craft.

So, I guess, the point of this rant is that while having Quentin Tarantino's next opus shot here in Colorado will provide us with brief glitz and glamour of Hollywood, sadly it won't bring any new filmmaking jobs after they leave. Only a permanent sensible tax break for productions and improved publicity in trade papers can do that. Hopefully, however, I am wrong, and The Hateful Eight is the start of something big.

~Evgueni Mlodik