Re: "NCIS" creator sues CBS over "NCIS: LA"
Anim8rFSK
David <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/ncis-creator-don-bellisario-sues-cbs-over-spin
> off-ncis-los-angeles/
>
> 'NCIS' Creator Don Bellisario Sues CBS Over Spinoff 'NCIS: Los
> Angeles'
> By NELLIE ANDREEVA
>
> EXCLUSIVE: A 20-year successful partnership between a top TV producer
> and a major studio may end up in court. This morning, JAG and NCIS
> creator Don Bellisario is filing a breach-of-contract lawsuit against
> the series' producer CBS TV Studios over offshoot NCIS: Los Angeles.
> The complaint, which you can read here, is being filed at Los Angeles
> Superior Court by Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks &
> Lincenberg.
>
> Bellisario, who was let go from NCIS in 2007 after star Mark Harmon
> threatened to quit the show, has not been involved in the successful
> spinoff series which was developed the following year and launched in
> fall 2009 and has not received a penny from it. The filing aims to
> rectify that, claiming that under Bellisario's contracts with CBS TV
> Studios and its predecessors, Bellisario had a right of "first
> opportunity" "to participate creatively in economically in the
> development" of any "new spinoffs, sequels or remakes" of any series
> he had created for the studio as long as he worked on the original
> series for the first 2 seasons. The suit claims that CBS denied
> Bellisario that right as he was never offered to create or be part
> of NCIS: LA, which was written by Shane Brennan, former No.2 to
> Bellisario on NCIS who took over the hit series after Bellisario's
> ouster at the end of Season 4. "Pursuant to the first opportunity
> provisions of Plaintiffs’ contracts with CBS, CBS is contractually
> obligated to compensate Bellisario for NCIS:LA, including a percentage
> of its profits as well as a certain fixed compensation," the suit
> says.
>
> The amount of damages sought is not specified in the complaint but
> NCIS: LA is estimated to generate more than a billion dollar in
> revenue for the studio over its run between network license fee, the
> lucrative off-network syndication deal with USA, which pays $2.3
> million per episode for at least 10 seasons, the approximately $1.5
> million per episode that international sales bring as well as
> auxiliary revenues. That means that the compensation, which the
> complaint claims Bellisario is entitled to, could reach $150 million -
> $200 million.
>
> Bellisario's first hit for CBS was the 1980s Magnum P.I., followed by
> JAG and its spinoff NCIS. “After more than 25 years of creating
> groundbreaking hit drama series for CBS, including the incredibly
> successful JAG/NCIS military justice franchise, CBS failed to offer
> Don Bellisario the opportunity to write or executive produce NCIS:LA,
> the third installment in the franchise he created," said Bellisario's
> attorney Ron Nessim. "In doing so, CBS breached its contractual
> obligations to Mr. Bellisario. After unsuccessfully trying to resolve
> the issue informally with CBS, Mr. Bellisario was compelled to seek
> resolution in the court system.”
>
> The complaint sheds light on the studio's arguments for denying
> Bellisario's requests for compensation so far. "CBS’ refusal to
> compensate Bellisario for NCIS:LA is premised upon an unreasonably
> narrow interpretation of the “first opportunity" provisions of the
> contracts in question," the lawsuit says. Such "first opportunity"
> provisions exist in all of Bellisario's deals with CBS Studios,
> including the most recent one signed in 2006, giving him the right to
> create new series related to the ones he originally conceived. The
> definition of what type new series are covered under the terms of the
> deal evolved over time (the first deal in 1992, for instance,
> excludes so-called "planted" spinoffs). The most recent 2006 deal
> specifies the projects Bellisario is entitled to get first dibs
> creating as "a generic spinoff (i.e., a new pilot and/or series in
> which a continuing central character is one who originally appeared in
> the pilot on which the original series was directly based), television
> sequel, prequel or remake or television movie or miniseries based upon
> such series." Even if Bellisario does not take part in such new
> series, he is still entitled to sizable passive payments for them.
>
> While not spelling out exactly what CBS Studios' objections are, the
> complaint suggests that the studio doesn't consider NCIS: LA a
> spin-off or sequel as stipulated in Bellisario's deals. "Contrary to
> CBS’s interpretation, Bellisario has the contractual right to
> participate in and be compensated for NCIS:LA because it is, among
> other things, both a sequel to and a spinoff of JAG and NCIS within
> the meaning of the "first opportunity” rights provisions of
> Plaintiffs’ contracts with CBS," the suit says.
>
> NCIS and NCIS: LA, which is commonly referred to as an NCIS spinoff,
> do share several characters, including that of of the Director of
> NCIS. They also share the NCIS title, have the same general setting
> (or "inhabit the same fictional universe" per the complaint), the NCIS
> Agency, and both mix drama with banter among the members of the team.
> The complaint claims that CBS' decision to schedule NCIS: LA after
> NCIS further underlines the two series' close affiliation and that
> NCIS: LA landed its blockbuster off-network deal only 7 episodes into
> its run because of its close association with the mothership series.
> The suits also features quotes from Brennan and NCIS: LA stars LL Cool
> J and Chris O'Donnell about the great similarities between the two
> series.
>
> The legal dispute raises the question about what exactly constitutes a
> TV series spinoff as that term has evolved from the old days of
> traditional offshoots like Frasier. Like Law & Order and CSI, NCIS: LA
> is more of a franchise spinoff that carries the structure, the look
> and the feel of the original, something the complaint underscores a
> number of times.
I'm amazed it took this long. I've been waiting for the lawsuits to fly
ever since I read interviews with Shane Brennan claiming that there are
two NCIS Prime series, his, and Bellisario's.
--
"Please, I can't die, I've never kissed an Asian woman!"
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