AM New York Interview With New York Entertainment Lawyer John J. Tormey III, Esq., Regarding The Julie Taymor 'Spider-Man' Litigation

Julie Taymor Sues Broadway's 'Spider-Man' For $1 Million -

AM New York InterviewWith New York Entertainment Lawyer John J. Tormey III, Esq.

news

By Tim Herrera

http://jtormey.newsvine.com/_news/2011/11/15/8821343-new-york-entertainment-lawyer-john-j-tormey-iii-esq-interviewed-by-tim-herrera-of-am-new-york-regarding-the-julie-taymor-spiderman-lawsuit

Spider-Man's new nemesis is a million-dollar lawsuit.

Julie Taymor, the booted director of "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark", sued the show's producers Tuesday for at least $1 million plus royalties for using her work after she was fired, the suit alleges.

The producers "have continued to promote, use, change and revise Taymor's work ... without her approval or authorization and in violation of their agreements with Taymor", according to the lawsuit, filed yesterday in New York federal court.

http://jtormey.new.newsvine.com/_news/2011/11/15/8821343-new-york-entertainment-lawyer-john-j-tormey-iii-esq-interviewed-by-tim-herrera-of-am-new-york-regarding-the-julie-taymor-spiderman-lawsuit

 

Taymor's attorney, Charles Spada, said the suit was filed as a last resort "to protect her rights".

"The producers have failed to compensate Ms. Taymor for their continued use of her work to date, despite the fact that the show has consistently played to capacity or near-capacity houses", Spada told www.showbiz411.com, which first reported the lawsuit.

The show has faced an onslaught of troubles since it went into previews in November 2010, including repeated, highly publicized actor injuries, a tsunami of negative reviews and delay after delay.

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/julie-taymor-sues-broadway-s-spider-man-for-1-million-1.3306357

 

Still, it has managed to fill seats, raking in around $1 million per week, but because of extremely high production costs, money reportedly remains very tight.

http://jtormey.newsvine.com/?more=SectionContent

The suit was filed just a week after the Tony Awards ruled that only Taymor would be eligible for the award in the best direction of a musical category.

Taymor co-wrote the book for "Spider-Man" and is largely seen as the driving force behind the original show, which at $75 million is Broadway's most expensive ever. She was replaced in March with Philip William McKinley, who revamped the show.

http://digg.com/news/entertainment/julie_taymor_sues_broadway_s_spider_man_for_1_million

 

In June, she filed for arbitration through the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, arguing the show owed her at least $300,000 in royalties. The case is ongoing.

"You can understand how someone who's a high-profile talent would believe it’s unfair if her work were used without her continuing attachment to project”, said New Yorkentertainment lawyer John J. Tormey III.

http://oknotizie.virgilio.it/info/59654af4a852794a/new_york_entertainment_lawyer_john_j._tormey_iii_esq._interviewed_by_tim_herrera_of_am_new_york_regarding_the_julie_taymor_spiderman_lawsuit..html

 

He added: "However, it is possible that that some of [Taymor's] motivation is not economic."

http://entertainmentlawyerjohn.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/julie-taymor-sues-broadways-%e2%80%9cspider-man%e2%80%9d-for-1-million/

 

The show didn't immediately have comment.

***

http://en.wordpress.com/tag/john-j-tormey-iii/

 

It's been nearly 10 years since Broadway's "Spider-Man" was first announced. Here are some of the high- and low-lights.

2002: Show is first announced by Marvel

November 2010: The show opens in previews with a January 2011 opening night scheduled

December 2010: Actor Christopher Tierney severely injured during a preview

March 2010: Julie Taymor booted

April 2010: The show goes on hiatus for three months

June 2010: Opening night

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://entertainmentlawyerjohn.wordpress.com/

 

Follow reporter Tim Herrera on Twitter: @tim_herrera

Brits Demand Pirate Bay Blockade - Interview With Entertainment Attorney John J. Tormey III, Esq.

BRITS DEMAND PIRATE BAY BLOCKADE -

INTERVIEW WITH ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY JOHN J. TORMEY III, ESQ.

Brits Demand Pirate BayBlockade
By Rachelle Dragani
E-Commerce Times
11/07/11 11:02 AM PT
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/73695.html

British lobby group BPI wants one of the UK's largest Internet service providers, BT, to ban its customers from accessing file-sharing website The Pirate Bay. The site's been blocked in a handful of countries before, yet it lives on as one of the Web's most popular destinations for those looking to share copyrighted material online.

http://n4g.com/news/883338/brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade

A coalition of film studios, record labels and media entities led by the UKrecord industry lobby group BPI recently sent a letter to British Internet service provider (ISP) BT demanding that the company block access to The Pirate Bay website.

http://current.com/technology/93533031_brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade.htm

The group said that if BT doesn't act within two weeks, the matter will proceed to court. BPI is banking on the recent UK court decision regarding Newzbin2, a British file-sharing website recently blocked by court order.

http://www.corkboard.it/posting/show/21302-brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade

It was the first British website to be blocked for reasons besides carrying offensive material such as child abuse images, and BPI is hoping to capitalize on that decision and get the courts to again demand blocking The Pirate Bay, which provides visitors with files that can be used to share media and data online, including copyrighted works.

http://digg.com/news/entertainment/technology_news_piracy_brits_demand_pirate_bay_blockade

It's not the first time The Pirate Bay has faced such demands since its start eight years ago by a Swedish anti-copyright organization. Lawsuits and raids have led to brief downtimes for the website, as well as restrictions, fines and prison sentences for its creators. The site is blocked in Denmark, Finland, and Italy.

http://www.startaid.com/review/19279486/Brits-Demand-Pirate-Bay-Blockade.html

BT indicated to The Guardian that it would await a court order before blocking any Web content. The Pirate Bay, BPI and BP did not respond to the E-Commerce Times' requests for further comment.

http://sitemarks.in/technology/brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade/

Copyright Battles

"The effects of illegal downloading and piracy have certainly trickled down to the ranks of the artists and creative community", New York entertainment lawyer John J. Tormey III told the E-Commerce Times. The music industry has been transformed, the TV industry has been transformed, the book publishing industry has been transformed, and the film industry has been transformed."

http://current.com/technology/93533031_brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade.htm

The producers of copyrighted media whose works are freely traded online have for years said their businesses are directly hurt by piracy. However, as industries start to blend together -- for example, a computer company like Apple could make deals to become a content provider -- there are many more organizations with interests in protecting copyrights.

"If the courts don't support the business of copyright, then we're pulling the rug out from under the ones who are doing it to survive, and it dis-incentivizes creation. From a global perspective, it really puts you in a less competitive place", said Tormey.

http://jtormey.newsvine.com/_news/2011/11/09/8727325-brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade

No Going Back

Illegal downloads, illicit BitTorrent activity, unauthorized streams and other pirating methods have become so rampant it may be practically impossible for the film, music and television industries to eliminate the phenomenon entirely. If the BPI can get The Pirate Bay blocked, as it has been in other countries, there will likely still be other sites and methods for freely obtaining and sharing copyrighted material.

Since the legal system has to straddle the line between protecting freedom of speech and protecting enterprise, coupled with a technological scene that's advancing quickly, legislation has had a difficult time keeping up.

In order for copyrights to maintain their importance, then, outdated legislation might not be the answer, though it's possible for protections to catch up to technology.
http://bx.businessweek.com/entertainment-industry/e-commerce-news-piracy-brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade/13322907556411127837-611313eb4c2aa3e6d86d6786d8713c62/

"Carriers are essentially saying they can't control what goes through the door, but the technology exists. The U.S. government has the ability to pick up on certain key words as a weapon against terrorism, so the intelligent powers know that a macro can be set up to pick up material that is harmful - so the technology exists of common carriers to pick up certain file-sharing or illegal activity", said Tormey.

Some record labels or pro-copyright groups also focus on education campaigns to counter the inability of legislation to accomplish widespread bans on illegal file-sharing.

"I'm not sure if legislation can fix the system, but I think education can", [another commentator] told the E-Commerce Times. "We have to do a better job of educating everyone about the importance of copyright because the kind of legislation we see coming out ends up being clumsy and overreaching, putting us in a situation where we end up clamping down on free speech instead of keeping the lines open".

http://blog.mmoga.com/2011/11/brits-demand-pirate-bay-blockade/