Update: Clients' Films Honored
January 29, 2012
As the sun sets on Sundance, we congratulate our clients whose films were honored both at the festival and at the DGA Awards this weekend.
Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry was awarded the Special Jury Prize, Documentary (which it shared with Live Free or Die) at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend. (Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, Legal: Robert I. Freedman for producer MUSE Film/TV. Marc H. Simon represents producer Adam Schlesinger).
And Robot & Frank was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Prize (which it shared with Valley of Saints) this weekend at Sundance. The prize recognizes excellence in exploring themes of science and technology in feature films. (For Robot & Frank, Legal: Marc H. Simon for Park Pictures).
James Marsh won the Director Guild of America’s documentary prize this weekend for his film Project Nim. (Legal: Andrea F. Cannistraci for co-producer Maureen Ryan).
Report from Sundance
January 24, 2012
CDAS clients’ films Robot & Frank, The Imposter, Me@TheZoo and Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry are all enjoying successful premieres this week at The Sundance Film Festival. CDAS Partner Marc H. Simon is in Park City and reports enthusiastic receptions for all our clients’ films, and other exciting events and meetings.
Acclaimed by Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and listed by the L.A. Times as a top pick at Sundance, writer/director Jake Schreier’s debut Robot & Frank is a dramatic comedy about Frank, an elderly man with declining memory, whose children concerned for his well-being buy him a caretaker robot with unexpected results. (The film has been picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide and Samuel Goldwyn Films).
Unfolding like a thriller, the documentary The Imposter tells the gripping story of a 13 year-old boy who disappears in 1994 and returns home almost four years later to tell a shocking account of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed but soon all is not what it seems.
The documentary Me@theZoo tells the fascinating post-modern tale of Chris Crocker, a video blogger from a small town in Tennessee and part of the first generation raised on the internet under constant self-surveillance. His YouTube declaration “Leave Britney Alone” which has been viewed hundreds of millions of times, catapulted Crocker to internet folk hero status overnight.
Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry offers an unprecedented look at artist and activist Ai WeiWei, known for his architecture, subversive art, and his calls for greater transparency on the part of the Chinese state. Director Alison Klayman chronicles the complexities of Ai’s life in this documentary beginning with his rise to prominence and his run-ins with China’s authorities. (Legal: Marc H. Simon for producer Adam Schlesinger).
(For Robot & Frank, Legal: Marc H. Simon for Park Pictures. For The Imposter, Legal: Susan H. Bodine for A&E, Producer/Financier. For Me@theZoo, Legal: Susan H. Bodine for Michael Stipe’s C-00 and Marc H. Simon for the producers. For Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry, Legal: Marc H. Simon for producer Adam Schlesinger).
Oscar Nominations for The Tree of Life
January 24, 2012
CDAS clients’ The Tree of Life was among the films leading in major Oscar categories when nominations were announced this morning.
Terrence Malick was nominated for Best Director, Emmanuel Lubezki was nominated for Best Cinematography and the film has been nominated for Best Picture.
(For The Tree of Life, Legal: Susan H. Bodine, Frederick P. Bimbler and Andrea F. Cannistraci for River Road Entertainment).
Also, Drive was nominated for Best Sound Editing (Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis). (For Drive, Legal: Marc H. Simon for FilmDistrict).
The 84th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ET
Hunger Games Spiking Sales “whipping up a five-alarm box-office fire” - N.Y. Times
January 24, 2012
Sales of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy are spiking, reports this week’s New York Times. When production began last year on the Lionsgate adaptation of the Hunger Games trilogy there were 9.6 million books in the trilogy in circulation. An online marketing push and MTV spotlights “added kindling” to buzz already spreading across the internet, and by November 16 million books in the trilogy were in print in the U.S. There are now 23.5 million Hunger Games books in print in the domestic market.
The Hunger Games film, which opens March 23 and stars Jennifer Lawrence as the young heroine Katniss Everdeen, takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the government televises an annual fight to the death between a teenage boy and girl.
CDAS Of Counsel Janis C. Nelson represents the Hunger Games trilogy’s author Suzanne Collins.
(Ms. Lawrence, who announced this morning's Oscar nominations, made her own Oscar-nominated debut in another CDAS client film, Winter’s Bone).
Kenneth N. Swezey at The Literary Works and Related Rights Committee
January 20, 2012
The Literary Works and Related Rights Committee meets Monday, January 23 at the New York City Hilton during the NYSBA 2012 Annual Meeting, to discuss the legal and business landscape affecting literary works, (e-books and related emerging platforms) and strategies to meet these and other growing innovations in publishing and content distribution. Kenneth N. Swezey co-chairs this committee.
The Literary Works and Related Rights Committee seeks to digest, synthesize, and establish a discourse on the intersection of the legal and business landscape affecting literary works. The Committee addresses intellectual property rights in literary works and transactional strategies to meet these and other innovations in publishing and content distribution.
Mary E. Rasenberger at CSUSA’s Registration and Recordation in the 21st Century
January 20, 2012
On Saturday, February 4, (from 12:30pm to 1:30pm), CDAS Partner Mary E. Rasenberger will be at The Copyright Society of the USA’s 2012 Mid-Winter Meeting in L.A. on the panel with the Copyright Office entitled Registration and Recordation in the 21st Century. The panel addresses the future of registration and recordation and related goals of the Copyright Office over the next few years. This will include issues raised by the registration of online works, how the Copyright Office’s electronic registration system has changed registration practices, revisions to the Copyright Office Compendium currently underway, registration developments in foreign countries and an interactive discussion of the process. This is the last panel of the day and meeting.
Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP is proud to co-sponsor the CSUSA's 2012 Mid-Winter Meeting.
Broadcastr at Dealmakers Summit 2012
January 19, 2012
The annual DeSilva+Phillips Media Dealmakers Summit 2012, now in its tenth year, will be held Thursday, February 2 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.
Last year, over 250 attendees, representing a combined $85 billion in 2010 M&A transactions, attended the summit. This year Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum, co-founders of Broadcastr will be joining the distinguished lineup of speakers and moderators. Broadcastr is a new social-media platform for location-based audio that allows its users to listen, create and share recordings on an interactive map, and in Geoplay mode, hear relevant stories about their surroundings automatically stream through smartphones - like a “museum audio tour of the world”.
CDAS Partner Joshua B. Sessler represents Broadcastr.
Meet Math & Science Prodigy Jake Barnett
January 18, 2012
After some time auditing college level physics courses by night, math prodigy Jake Barnett soon dropped out, of elementary school that is, he was 8 years-old. At age 12 he was doing paid scientific research, and today he is a straight-A honors college sophomore lecturing crowds at his university science symposium. Jake is now 13 years-old.
To help demonstrate he was ready for college, Jake taught himself all of high school mathematics in just two weeks. (His idea of fun is reciting from memory the infinite series of numbers known as pi, he memorized more than 200 in the series, backward and forward, in a single afternoon). Jake is the youngest person to be published in the prestigious physics journal “Physical Review A” and is the subject of a recent 60 Minutes feature. But there was a time when it seemed Jake may never reach college at any age. Diagnosed with autism at age 2, Jake retreated into his own world. It was a world he would later only move out of once he began dedicating his time to things he loved. Today his parents run a center for autistic children called Jacob’s Place.
An agreement with Warner Brothers for Jake’s life story rights was negotiated by CDAS Partners Timothy J. DeBaets and Joshua B. Sessler representing the Barnett family.
Mary E. Rasenberger at "21st Century Copyright Gone Wild"
January 18, 2012
CDAS Partner Mary E. Rasenberger will be speaking at Columbia Law this Thursday, January 26, from 12:10pm to 1:20pm on a panel entitled “21st Century Copyright Gone Wild: New Terms for Works in the Public Domain, Trying to Stop Foreign Peer-to-Peer Websites & So Much More!”
The event, co-hosted by two Columbia Law School student groups, the Federalist Society and the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Society, will be held in the main law school building, Jerome Greene Hall, room 105.
Robert J. Epstein at the Midem Music Conference, Cannes
January 17, 2012
The annual global music conference Midem takes place in Cannes from Saturday January 28 through Tuesday January 31. This global conference brings together nearly 7,000 participants, and approximately 1000 companies, including labels, publishers, artists, distributors and many others from over 77 countries. CDAS Special Counsel Robert J. Epstein will attend.
Al J. Daniel on Copyright Law and Its Basic Concepts
January 17, 2012
CDAS Partner Al J. Daniel is a panelist at the Copyright Law Committee’s Law Clerks Copyright Seminar entitled Copyright Law and Its Basic Concepts, Wednesday, January 25, 6pm -- 9pm, at the City Bar at 42 West 44th Street, NYC. The program will overview the key concepts in copyright law in the U.S., including how case law and interpretations have evolved and continue to evolve in the age of the internet and emerging content delivery.
Noms for Client Sofia Vergara - Golden Globe & SAG Awards
December 15, 2011
Frederick P. Bimbler and all of us congratulate client Sofia Vergara on her Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. The announcement came the day after her Screen Actors Guild nomination for Oustanding Female Actor in a Comedy Series.
Modern Family itself also picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical, individual nominations for others in the cast and also led in SAG Award nominations. We’ll be watching the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday January 15, 2012 and the SAG Awards on Sunday January 29, 2012.
Mary E. Rasenberger Panel: "The Google Books Settlement" (listen to podcast)
December 6, 2011
In March, the proposed settlement between Google and book publishers and authors over Google’s book scanning and book search programs, was rejected. On November 30, at the 2011 Conference on Copyright and Technology, a panel of legal experts including CDAS Partner Mary E. Rasenberger considered the unanswered questions that decision left behind. Click here to LISTEN to this panel “The Google Books Settlement: Good Riddance or Lost Opportunity?" (This podcast is part of the Copyright Clearance Center’s “Beyond the Book" series).
A Week of Honors for CDAS Clients' Films
December 3, 2011
The Tree of Life tied for Best Feature at the 21st Annual Gotham Independent Awards in New York Monday night. The next day the 2011 New York Film Critics' Circle Awards were announced; Brad Pitt (Best Actor) and Jessica Chastain (Best Supporting Actress) both won for The Tree of Life which also took the award for Best Cinematography. Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams won the NY Film Critics' Circle award for Best Non-Fiction Film. Also, the documentary Project Nim joined the quintet of films nominated yesterday by the Producer's Guild of America (PGA) for its documentary feature award. Only a few days earlier Project Nim had advanced in the Oscar race for Best Documentary Feature as it moved up to join the 15 documentaries shortlisted so far in that category for the 84th Academy Awards.
(For The Tree of Life, legal: Susan H. Bodine, Frederick P. Bimbler and Andrea F. Cannistraci for River Road Entertainment. For Cave of Forgotten Dreams, legal: Marc H. Simon for Creative Differences. For Project Nim, legal: Andrea F. Cannistraci for co-producer Maureen Ryan).
Zehra J. Abdi Presents "Copyright & Trademark Law Primer" at PLI
December 3, 2011
On Friday December 9 from 2:15pm to 3:30pm, CDAS attorney Zehra J. Abdi presents "Copyright and Trademark Law Primer" at the Practising Law Institute (PLI). This primer is part of PLI's annual Bridge-the-Gap program; newly admitted attorneys may attend the two-day Bridge-the-Gap program to satisfy all of their annual MCLE requirements.
Eleanor M. Lackman Speaks at PLI's "IP Licensing Issues"
December 3, 2011
On Thursday January 19, 2012 from 3:30pm to 5pm, Eleanor M. Lackman speaks on the panel “IP Licensing Issues” at the IP Issues in Business Transactions 2012 conference at the Practising Law Institute (PLI). Ms. Lackman will address IP strategies and protections necessary to achieve a timeline of goals for transactions involving copyright, trademark and publicity rights. Topics include grant backs, sublicensing rights, first sale issues, enforcement, quality control and more.
Mary E. Rasenberger on the Google Books Settlement
November 19, 2011
On Sunday, November 30, from 11:30am to 12:45pm, CDAS Partner Mary E. Rasenberger will be speaking at the C&T Conference on Copyright & Technology 2011. Her panel “The Google Book Settlement: Good Riddance or Lost Opportunity?”will be held at the Manhattan Penthouse. Now that the settlement is dead, what will happen next? What should happen?
Nancy E. Wolff on Art Law Panel at NYCLA
November 12, 2011
On Friday, November 18 (8:45am – 5:30pm) Nancy E. Wolff joins a panel of experts on art law at the NYCLA, 4th Annual Art Litigation and Dispute Resolution Institute. (CLE credit available).
CDAS Congratulate Clients’ Films Opening Today!
November 11, 2011
CDAS congratulates our clients on their films opening today. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, Brazil’s highest-grossing domestic film and its Oscar bet for Best Foreign Film, opens today in the U.S.
Also Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss opens today in limited release. The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp, which opened in the U.S. a week ago, has its U.K. opening today. And Pete Smalls is Dead starring Peter Dinklage and Tim Roth opens today.
And Immortals opens across the country today including in 3-D.
(For Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, Legal: Susan H. Bodine for director Jose Padilha. -- For Into the Abyss, Legal: Marc H. Simon for Creative Differences. -- For The Rum Diary, Legal: Marc H. Simon for FilmDistrict. -- For Pete Smalls Is Dead, Legal: Robert L. Seigel for prod. co. Ms. Tangerine. -- For Immortals, Legal: Susan H. Bodine and Lisa K. Digernes for Universal International).
Mary E. Rasenberger at Anti-Piracy Summit
November 11, 2011
Tuesday November 15 from 9:45am to 10:30am, Mary E. Rasenberger will speak on the panel “Around the World: Recap of Recent Legislative Efforts” at The Anti-Piracy and Content Protection Summit in Sentry Center, NYC. (The entire festival runs November 14-16th). Topics include updates on the pending Protect IP Act, new international regulatory proposals, and international ip support.
Mary E. Rasenberger Speaks on Righthaven at IPLJ
November 10, 2011
On Friday November 11, from 9:30am to 3:45pm, CDAS Partner Mary E. Rasenberger will speak at the 2011 IPLJ at a Fordham School of Law conference, “IP Bullying or Proactive Enforcement?” about the Righthaven cases.
Eleanor M. Lackman – The New Frontier: Clouds
November 10, 2011
Eleanor M. Lackman speaks on a panel entitled “The New Frontier: Clouds” as part of the 23rd Annual North American Entertainment, Sports and Intellectual Property Law Conference in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on November 12. This plenary, the closing panel of the conference, focuses on cloud-based media and how to navigate the web of IP, business and legal concerns in this rapidly evolving frontier.
Jennifer Fox’s My Reincarnation In Theaters
November 10, 2011
The critically-acclaimed documentary My Reincarnation is now in theaters in New York, poised to expand to other markets. Jennifer Fox’s documentary follows Yeshi, the Westernized son of Buddhist master Chogal Namkhai Norbu. Yeshi has been acknowledged since the age of 5 to be the reincarnation of Khyentse, a great Dzogchen Buddhist master himself. Still Yeshi through his teens rebuffs a life expected by others as he remains emotionally estranged from his father. This award-winning film traces Yeshi’s spiritual awakening as he struggles with who he truly is. (Legal: Robert I. Freedman for director/producer Jennifer Fox, and Zohe Films, and Robert L. Seigel for executive producer Joanna Plafsky).
Andrea F. Cannistraci at Stock Footage: Creative Uses, Licensing and Fair Use at PIIP
November 10, 2011
"Stock Footage: Creative Uses, Licensing and Fair Use", an educational event co-hosted by the Parsons Institute for Intellectual Property (PIIP) and the Association of Commercial Stock Footage Licensors (ACSIL), was a great success. Panelists, including Andrea F. Cannistraci, spoke November 3 about the use of stock footage to produce content across media, the creative and legal opportunities and limitations inherent in using stock footage and the practical issues of licensing, clearances and the applicability of Fair Use doctrine. ACSIL is a non-profit association dedicated to promoting and advancing the professional interests of the stock footage industry. The Parsons Institute for Intellectual Property at The New School focuses on the intersections between intellectual property, ownership, expression, culture and media in the 21st Century.
Spreecast Launches Today!
November 10, 2011
We congratulate Spreecast -- a social video platform that lets people broadcast together -- on its launch today. Marc H. Simon was pleased to be one of the inaugural Spreecasts as he was interviewed by Spreecast founder Jeff Fluhr about Unraveled, the 2011 documentary produced and directed by Mr. Simon and co-produced by CDAS client Stick Figure Productions.
Mobcaster Launches Today!
November 10, 2011
Mobcaster, a crowd-funding platform / online television channel launches today. Mobcaster pioneers an innovative way to discover and watch new television shows. This site allows TV creators to pitch their show ideas directly to the audience who then have the chance to choose what gets made. If audience members like the concept, they can pledge directly to the shows they want to see and if there is enough support, the show is produced. Fresh, talented writers and producers now have a platform to build their audience who then return to watch original, independent, audience-supported television programming. (Legal: Andrea F. Cannistraci and Joshua B. Sessler).
Kenneth N. Swezey @ Storyworld
November 3, 2011
Kenneth N. Swezey spoke on a panel discussing how to structure deals for transmedia properties at Storyworld in San Francisco on November 1st, the conference for multiplatform storytelling that reaches audiences across all platforms, from films, to books, games, social media and much more. The well-received panel “Pitching and Selling Your Idea – Challenges and Parameters” covered a host of challenges encountered in this emerging digital content format from initial pitching and steering your intellectual property from idea to execution, including deal structuring, leveraging new contracts and many strategies to develop your IP in conjunction with publishers, digital media producers, and studios involved in transmedia projects.
Planet B-Boy In Production
November 3, 2011
Production has commenced on Screen Gems’ Planet B-Boy, (a fictional motion picture based on the documentary Planet B-Boy), starring Josh Halloway (Lost) and Laz Alonzo (Avatar, Straw Dogs). The film, directed by Benson Lee who also directed the documentary, focuses on the world of international break-dancing competitions. (Legal: Robert L. Seigel for the documentary and for Benson Lee).
DOC NYC features Unraveled, First Position, Into the Abyss, No Look Pass and On Being There with Richard Leacock
October 20, 2011
Unraveled screens at DOC NYC November 5th and 9th. Directed and produced by CDAS Partner Marc H. Simon (After Innocence, Nursery University) and co-produced by Frederick P. Bimbler's client Stick Figure Productions, Unraveled is an intimate portrait of Marc Dreier, a prominent Manhattan attorney, arrested for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that netted hundreds of millions of dollars from hedge funds. Interwoven with flashbacks, Unraveled is set in the "purgatory" of house arrest -- an upper East Side penthouse -- where the Court has ordered Dreier confined until his sentencing day.
First Position also screens November 5th at DOC NYC. Directed and produced by Bess Kargman, this documentary follows six aspiring dancers (ages 9-19) as they prepare for the ballet's toughest youth competition. The film has enjoyed raves from critics including in Variety.
Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss will open DOC NYC on November 2nd. Co-produced by CDAS client Creative Differences, this documentarytakes us inside a Texas prison to meet inmates convicted of triple homicide. Mr. Simon has handled the legal services and negotiations for the distribution of both films and has also handled the financing and production for First Position. North American distribution rights forInto the Abyss as well as First Position have been picked up bySundance Selects, a sister company of IFC Films, which enjoyed solid success with Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams. (Mr. Simon also provided legal counsel for the distribution of Dreams as well).
Opening DOC NYC’s Tribute to Richard Leacock on November 4th is Jane Weiner’s work-in-progress On Being There with Richard Leacock. In this intimate portrait of documentarian Richard Leacock, Director Jane Weiner draws upon footage that she’s shot over 38 years of Leacock’s encounters with other master filmmakers and artists. The film includes footage from his classic films and never-before-seen segments from his personal archives. Ms. Weiner is represented by CDAS’ Robert I. Freedman.
Melissa Johnson's award-winning documentary, No Look Pass will make its East Coast debut at Doc NYC on November 5th and 7th. The film follows Harvard basketball superstar Emily Tay, who struggles to balance the rigors of playing for a professional basketball team in Germany while trying to maintain a relationship with her conservative Burmese-American immigrant parents, and gains the courage to “come out” in her lesbian relationship with a U.S. servicewoman on the cusp of the demise of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. Winner of the Special Programming Award for Freedom at LA's Outfest, it has been hailed as a “A masterful piece of documentary filmmaking… the most honest show of a lifetime.” CDAS’ Janis Nelson represents No Look Passdirector/producer Melissa Johnson and production company High Hip Productions.
CDAS is proud to once again co-sponsor DOC NYC.
Jim Harrison’s Novel The Great Leader on NYT Bestsellers List
October 20, 2011
Hitting the New York Times Bestsellers List this week, Jim Harrison’s newest novel The Great Leader finds his aging protagonist, Sunderson, hunting a cult leader. Pete Dexter in the New York Times writes, “it carbonates page after page. You might go so far as to compare it to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-page hitting streak.”… “30 odd books down the road and you can still feel the excitement every time he (Harrison) pulls something out of his ear, which pretty much happens on every page he writes.”… “Jim Harrison can break all the rules he wants and come out smelling like a rose.” J. Stephen Sheppard represents Mr. Harrison.
Screen Media Acquires Pic About Fifty
October 20, 2011
As reported in Variety this week, Screen Media has acquired About Fifty (formerly entitled Fifty Nothing) and will release in November. Described as a “coming of age story about the coming of age," the comedy follows two men trying to relive their younger days during a holiday getaway to Palm Springs. The film was repped by Executive Producer Melanie Becker with CDAS Partner Robert L. Seigel on behalf of Five Oh Productions, LLC, and the deal was brokered with Screen Media’s Suzanne Blech and David T. Fannon
The Brisket Book: A Love Story with Recipes
October 20, 2011
Food writer, cookbook author, and brisket zealot Stephanie Pierson’s The Brisket Book: A Love Story with Recipes is now available in hardcover and e-book. "Some foods will improve your meal, your mood, your day, your buttered noodles. Brisket will improve your life,” Ms. Pierson declares. From Scandinavian Aquavit Brisket, to a Barbecued Brisket Sandwiches with Firecracker Sauce, to a vegetarian Seitan Brisket, there are recipes for every taste and occasion. “Brisket is a cross-cultural wonder,” Ms. Pierson writes, “a Jewish dish cooked in a Dutch oven with a Sicilian sauce served in North Dakota.” J. Stephen Sheppard represents Ms. Pierson.
CDAS Client NDI Gets Its Own Stage
October 16, 2011
For 35 years, CDAS client The National Dance Institute (NDI) has rented and borrowed space as it brought performance and arts education to thousands of New York City public school students, but last Tuesday a ribbon cutting ceremony opened NDI’s new home, in what was formerly P.S. 90 Public School, in Harlem. “I think of the center as a crucible of learning and the arts,” said Mr. d’Amboise, 77, founder of NDI and the subject of “He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’,” which won the 1983 Oscar for best feature documentary. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other dignitaries were on hand for the ribbon-cutting. CDAS’ Robert I. Freedman, who represents Mr. D’Amboise and NDI, has been an NDI Board Member for 12 years and was chair of the committee that financed, acquired and built the new facility.
Wishful Drinking’s Chicago Run Opens to Raves
October 5, 2011
Hot off two Emmy nominations for the filmed HBO special of her Broadway one-woman live performance, Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher’s Chicago run has opened to raves.
Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune writes: “It's a savvy highlight of an extraordinarily well-constructed solo show: as shrewd and arresting and deliciously meta, a celebrity solo confessional as you are ever likely to see…”. And from the Chicago Stage Review: “Her banter with the audience is delightfully funny, confident and as fearless as her personal exposé… She is having a great time at her own expense and she creates a wonderfully intelligent, profoundly personal and extremely entertaining evening in the process.” Frederick P. Bimbler represents Carrie Fisher and the live-stage show.
Eleanor M. Lackman Named to INTA’s Internet Committee
October 5, 2011
Eleanor M. Lackman has been appointed to INTA’s Internet Committeefor the 2012-2013 term. The International Trademark Association (INTA) is an organization of several thousands of members from over 190 countries. Its Internet Committee advises INTA on policies and advocacy related to trademarks and the internet including domain name issues and matters involving general online trademark use. “It is an honor to be selected to join leading trademark practitioners from law firms, technology companies and other major corporations from around the world, to discuss and advise on legal and policy issues that will impact trademark owners and online trademark use in particular,” Ms. Lackman reports.
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is Brazil’s Oscar Bet
October 4, 2011
Director José Padilha's Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (Tropa de Elite 2), Brazil’s submission for the 84th Academy Awards, opens November 11 in the U.S. This gritty crime thriller, (which passed its predecessor Elite Squad as Brazil’s most successful movie of all time), uncovers a far-ranging web of corruption amongst the special military police assigned to clean up the crime-ridden favelas of Rio. Next up, Mr. Padhila helms the re-boot of Robocop. Susan H. Bodine represents Mr. Padilha and provided production and distribution legal services for the film.
Mary E. Rasenberger (at left) and Eleanor M. Lackman (at right)
CDAS Brings In Two New Partners to Expand Its Copyright, Trademark & Digital Media Practice
September 26, 2011
Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP is expanding its digital media and intellectual property practice with strategic hires of two well-known attorneys in the copyright and trademark fields, Mary E. Rasenberger and Eleanor M. Lackman, who have joined the firm, each as a partner. (PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE).
Also, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP is pleased to announce:
- Lisa K. Digernes, Matthew A. Kaplan and Joshua B. Sessler have all been promoted to partner.
- David E. Ashley and Joshua S. Wolkoff have joined the firm as associates.
- Janis C. Nelson joins the firm as Of Counsel in the firm’s Beverly Hills Office.
Motherhood Out Loud & The Fartiste
September 21, 2011
Motherhood Out Loud, (now in previews, opening October 4, Off-Broadway), is a new play about modern parenthood made up of scenes and monologues from celebrated American writers. M. Kilburg Reedy represents Susan Rose and Joan Stein, the co-conceivers. Also, The Fartiste, a new musical comedy, begins previews October 13 and opens October 27, Off-Broadway. With book by Charles Schulman and music and lyrics by Michael Roberts, the show is based on the strange but true story of a famed late-19th century Parisian music hall performer with an unusual talent. M. Kilburg Reedy represents composer/lyricist Michael Roberts and producing entity The Schulberts.
Relatively Speaking Now in Previews
September 20, 2011
Relatively Speaking, a comedy made up of one-act plays by Ethan Coen, Woody Allen and Elaine May, began previews September 20 and opens October 20 on Broadway. Frequent Coen Brothers collaborator John Turturro directs the cast which includes Julie Kavner. Each of the three one-acts follows a different branch of a single family tree. Timothy J. DeBaets represents Edward Walson, the co-producer of Relatively Speaking. (Mr. Walson is also an independent film producer (City Island) and cable television owner, he and his family own Service Electric Cable TV systems).
Timothy J. DeBaets & Robert I. Freedman: Super Lawyers
September 20, 2011
Timothy J. DeBaets has been named a Super Lawyer, and for the sixth year in a row, Robert I. Freedman has been named a Super Lawyer. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas; the selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Super Lawyers magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is also published as a special section in leading city and regional magazines.
Client FilmDistrict’s Drive Owns the Road
September 19, 2011
Just as the race for audiences' and critics' summer winner seemed at its end, CDAS client FilmDistrict’s Drive is pulling to the front. Hot off its Cannes’ Best Director honors for Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive wound through last week’s Toronto International Film Festival with a boost of excitement. Since opening across the country last Friday, the film is generating broad critical heat right off the starting line. This high-octane action-drama stars Ryan Gosling as a wheelman who drives movie stunts by day and a getaway car by night. Marc H. Simon, who represents FilmDistrict, congratulates his client as their winning streak continues in "over Drive".
Toronto Film Festival: Into the Abyss, First Position, Think of Me & Dark Horse
September 19, 2011
Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss opened at the Toronto International Film Festival. (The ten-day festival ended this last weekend). The documentary takes us inside a Texas prison to meet inmates convicted of triple homicide. And First Position premiered at Toronto. Directed and produced by Bess Kargman, this documentary follows six aspiring dancers (ages 9-19) as they prepare for the ballet world's toughest youth competition. The film has enjoyed raves from critics including Variety. Marc H. Simon is handling the legal services and negotiations for the distribution of both films and has also handled the financing and production for First Position.
Variety reports that following the standing ovation for First Position, buyers were “immediately on the phone” and that the film “looks like this year’s Spellbound.”
North American distribution rights for Into the Abyss have already been picked up by Sundance Selects, a sister company of IFC Films, which enjoyed solid success with Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams.(Mr. Simon also provided legal counsel for the distribution of Dreams as well).
Also, Robert L. Seigel represents Greyshack Films one of the producers of Think of Me which made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, starring Lauren Ambrose, is written and directed by Bryan Wizemann who is also represented by Robert. Robert also provided some of the financial legal services in connection with Dark Horse directed by Todd Solondz, which also screened in Toronto.
Congratulations to Our Emmy-Nominated Clients
September 18, 2011
Frederick P. Bimbler’s client Sofia Vergara was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress for a Comedy Series, for her work in Modern Family.
Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking (HBO) was nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special (and the show also picked up a nomination for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Special). Mr. Bimbler represents Carrie Fisher and the live-stage show currently on tour in North America.
Stand Up To Cancer was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special. Stephen Sheppard, with assistance from Andrea Cannistraci and Robert Epstein, represents Stand Up To Cancer.
Smash His Camera (HBO) directed by Leon Gast was nominated for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. Marc H. Simon was production and distribution counsel.
Robert Freedman’s client Jerry Foley was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series for his work on The Late Show with David Letterman.
The Pee-Wee Herman Show On Broadway (HBO) was nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. CDAS Partner M. Kilburg Reedy co-produced the Broadway show.
CDAS a Founding Member of Copyright Alliance’s Legal Advisory Board
August 9, 2011
Washington, August 9, 2011 - The Copyright Alliance announced the establishment of a Legal Advisory Board that includes CDAS as a founding Advisory Board member. Committed to promoting the cultural and economic benefits of copyright, the Copyright Alliance brings together a broad panoply of parties, from artists’ unions to major publishers. Its Legal Advisory Board will work with the Alliance and its membership to advance copyright strategy and develop a variety of projects and programs, including providing assistance to individual artists and creators, hosting educational events and webinars, expanding work with law schools and young lawyers, and contributing writing and research.
