Arts, Briefly: NBC Sues Dick Wolf
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In a spat between partners who have shared a lot of success, NBC Universal has filed suit against Dick Wolf, the prolific producer of the networkâs three âLaw & Orderâ series. The suit, filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centers on complex terms in Mr. Wolfâs contract. NBC argues that Mr. Wolf, right, is misinterpreting them to demand millions of dollars in executive-producer fees for two years after his shows leave the air. NBCâs interpretation is that if the network produces a sufficient number of episodes it can fulfill the contract and not owe Mr. Wolf for work he is no longer doing. Mr. Wolfâs side contends that the contract guarantees the money as a kind of termination payment, or âkill fee.â No matter when NBC decides to end his series, Mr. Wolf argues, he is to be paid for 48 more episodes. NBC asks that if the court finds the contract language ambiguous, it direct that the errors be fixed rather than force NBC to pay the money. A representative of Mr. Wolf, who like other Hollywood writers is on strike, said he was traveling on Tuesday and could not be reached. But Mr. Wolf issued a statement last week saying: âNBC Universal is trying to rewrite an existing contract. Apparently, our partner is willing to commission rewrites during the strike.â.
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One of Americaâs most-watched news talk-show hosts has settled a lawsuit with a former producer who accused him of sexual harassment.
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NEW YORK  - The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and NBC engaged in eleventh-hour sessions Sunday to try to save the boycott-stricken Golden Globes, with NBC appearing to be seriously considering pulling the telecast as a result of the Hollywood writers strike.
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NEW YORK  &#151; Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is accused of faking scenes for a new reality television show in which he was supposed to "makeover" failing restaurants in a week's time as his confrontations with staff were recorded, according to a lawsuit on Tuesday.
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A former job applicant is suing the CW television network in Los Angeles for the alleged plagiarism of her novel.  Staci Robinson alleges that an executive at Kelsey Grammer's production company lifted her unpublished work and turned it into the new series The Game.
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LOS ANGELES -- Randy Wolf and the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized an $8 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.
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NBC is in trouble -- can new management save the day?
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Marlon Brando's former business manager has filed a &#36;3.5-million claim against the late actor's estate, accusing the Oscar-winning "Godfather" star of sexual harassment and breach of contract.
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Lawyers for television talk-show host Maury Povich have asked a court to dismiss a &#36;100 million sex harassment lawsuit against him and members of his staff and to compel the producer who filed it to arbitrate the dispute.
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The sister of a former U.S. state  prosecutor who killed himself after he was targeted by a  television show as a suspected pedophile is suing NBC Universal  for $105 million.
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LOS ANGELES  - Amy Carlson and Kirk  Acevedo have joined the cast of Dick Wolf's upcoming "Law &  Order" spin-off "Trial by Jury" as regulars.
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Watching contestants eat dead rats on NBC's gross-out stunt show "Fear Factor" so disgusted a Cleveland man that he has sued NBC for &#36;2.5 million, saying he could not stomach what he saw.
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A US TV network is being sued by a viewer who saw contestants eat dead rats in a stunt show.
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LOS ANGELES  - Twentieth Century Fox has fired back at the unwitting co-stars in "Borat" who have sued to have the hit comedy pulled from theaters, describing their lawsuit as a "fatuous" attempt to thwart free speech.
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Actor James Van Der Beek wins his legal action against a real estate agent. Plus other entertainment news in brief.
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We told you about the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former Fox News employee against Bill O&#39;Reilly on Thursday. Andrea Mackris claims the commentator forced her into phone sex three times (we&#39;re not sure how).
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Fox's series, "The Next Great Champ," which airs on Tuesday night, has been the source of ferocious contention between Fox and NBC.