The
three cases I chose involve film crewmembers who are either suing the producers
or production companies of the respective films they worked on. I’m currently
taking an entertainment law class, which is why this blogpost has taken a bit
of a twist compared to the ones I usually write. The assignment required me to
identify three court cases in my industry and analyze the legal liabilities.
The
first case involves Cheryl Pickenback, a hairstylist on Zack Snyder’s reboot of
Superman titled Man of Steel. She
says that Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, and Third Act Pictures failed to
make sure the location was safe. The plaintiff is suing because she tripped on
what seemed to be “a fractured or uneven walking surface” when instructed to
fix one of the actor’s hair in between takes. As a result, she suffered “severe
and permanent injuries” that led her to begin “extensive medical and surgical
consultations and treatments.” The lawsuit was filed on Illinois, which is
where shooting took place, and has been taken to federal court.
In my opinion, the location manager, who claims he didn’t
have a role on the Illinois location, and the art director should have
considered additional safety measures for cast and crew whenever they were near
that area; however, it only happened to the hairstylist and she should have
watched her step.
The
second case has been a hot topic. A lawsuit filed on behalf of around 250
employees of the Los Angeles-based visual effects company Rhythm and Hues. The
company is best known for doing effects for the 4-Academy Award winning film
Life of Pi (Achievement in visual effects being one of the Oscars it received),
but also for filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The plaintiffs are
suing because these mass layoffs happened without proper notice, violating
federal law and California Labor Code. They are seeking unpaid wages, salaries,
commissions, bonuses, accrued vacation and holiday pay, pension, and 401(k)
contributions.
The company definitely failed in giving its employees a
sixty day written notice, and even though they have filed for bankruptcy, it
should give its employees the payments and benefits it owes them.
The
last lawsuit I chose came to light a year and a half ago when a couple of
interns from the production of Black Swan decided to sue Fox Searchlight,
saying they were exploited. This expanded to every internship program under Fox
Entertainment. The issue here is that Fox didn’t directly hire them; however,
they were aware of their involvement in the production since they had to approve, they received call sheets, and received
credits.
In my opinion, the entire situation is just a
miscommunication on behalf of the interns and Fox. The interns, even though
they claim the internship didn’t fulfill their work interest and that they didn’t
receive proper training, should have known better. Internships are entry-level
positions that’ll require you to do multiple tasks, possibly in different
departments. They also expected to get paid, since Fox could have hired a
crewmember to do the work. On the other hand, Fox should be more clear and careful on what it expects from interns so that there are no miscommunications in the future. Oral arguments will be taking place in May.
