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Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 5:19 am
by crashb648
Here's what the article says:
"Knight Rider" creator sues Universal for profits
NEW YORK (TheWrap) - The producer of "Knight Rider," "Battlestar Galactica," "Magnum, P.I." and a string of other hits -- and the man credited with creating the word "frak" -- is suing Universal for millions in profits.
Glen A. Larson's lawsuit says the 1970s and '80s shows Larson created and produced were some of Universal's biggest cash cows, and that Larson was "probably the most successful creator/producer of television shows in Universal's history both in terms of revenue and critical acclaim."
It says Universal has made hundreds of millions on the shows but underpaid Larson out of the profits.
"Indeed, as the shows make more money for Universal, the deficit that Larson productions must overcome continually increases. It's Hollywood's version of being a sharecropper," reads one colorful passage of the suit.
The imaginative imagery is fitting for a lawsuit from Larson, credited with basing "Battlestar" partly on Mormon theology and creating the curse word the show and its reboot made famous.
Universal did not immediately return a call for comment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/ ... MK20110712
Here's another article:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-es ... son-210168
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:48 am
by Knight Racer
Wow,makes me wonder if I can sue my employers for all the years he underpaid me.Especially since Larson signed all those contracts with fine print accepting the terms and conditions.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:18 pm
by KITTDRVR
The accounting trickeries of large media companies are well documented, so it's not necessarily an issue of the "fine print" in these cases. My guess, and this is purely speculative, is that there are issues with syndication money and digital distribution which didn't exist at the time any of these series were created.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 3:10 pm
by Knight Racer
I would have thought people had contracts to document that any profit made by the production company would give a certain percentage to the creator like 10% or something.The only thing I could think up that would be something Glen would fight for is if he didn't get what he was owed and there was more money owed to him.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 3:27 pm
by KITTDRVR
Contracts do exist and will say certain things, but it comes down to the reporting and accounting and it's very complex with all the different territories, distribution channels, and sliding scales. Then there are things like packaging deductions as a percentage of gross which are often still applied even to digital products where there isn't any packaging. So, it's not black & white by any means.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:40 am
by blackthorntk
Yeah i read this article a few days ago myself and I wish Glenn best of luck
.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:01 am
by FlagAgent078
I dont think this will help the Knight Rider Movie.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 12:33 pm
by Scott Kirkessner
As much as I credit Larson for creating some doozies, let's not forget he ABANDONED some of them rather quickly.
He created Magnum PI with Donald Bellesario, but had nothing to do with the series production, Donald carried it for nearly 8 years until Selleck took over the last season.
Larson created Knight Rider but bailed after the first 13 episodes.
I think a series creator needs to stick with his product - Larson can't be demanding all these profits when he bolts on his work.
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:26 pm
by Knight Racer
Didn't he oversee the scripts for episodes after the first 13?
Re: Glen Larson is sueing Universal!
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:04 pm
by PHOENIXZERO
I'm sure his contract includes him getting a share of profits made from a show, it doesn't matter if he stuck around for 100 episodes or 10 if he's the creator of it, the problem is that the contracts are so old that they probably didn't include certain things that have come around since the 80s. Then of course there's Hollywood's "accounting" practices.
They'll settle before it really goes to court because Universal doesn't want anyone looking at their books.