Do You Need Permission to Make a Movie About Real People? Ask Mark Zuckerberg and Joe Francis.

Clients often ask me about obtaining "life rights" in connection with films based on real events.  Most clients are under the impression that they can't make a film about real people without getting permission.  Not true.

Here's a great example -- the upcoming film, Social Network.  This article in The Hollywood Reporter describes apparent negotiations between producer Scott Rudin and executives

How China Will Change The Film Business

Reading this article in The Hollywood Reporter, I had a somewhat shocking realization.  As the market for film (and everything else) becomes truly global, there is no escaping the impact of other cultures on the content that is created in this country.

The article focuses on the Chinese government's resistance to creating a rating system for film.  The Chinese system is black and white --

Reports Of The Death of 3D Are Premature

There was a very good article a few days ago in The Wrap about the downward trend in 3D box office revenues. (By the way, The Wrap is a favorite publication of mine on the entertainment business.  If you don't read it, you should.)  While the author (Daniel Frankel) gives fair coverage to the topic, I think the article misses the big picture.

An underlying assumption seems to be that tracking 3D

California Girls: The Beach Boys, Katy Perry and Copyright Law

According to a number of news accounts (like this one at Billboard.com), Rondor Music (a division of Universal), the publisher of the hit Beach Boys song, California Girls, has sent a demand to Katy Perry in connection with her current hit, California Gurls. Rondor is seeking compensation for an alleged copyright infringement. The gist of the claim stems not from the obviously similar title (