Harvey Weinstein took the battle over the title to The Butler to the morning TV airwaves this morning, telling CBS This Morning that he was surprised by Warner Bros.' position, claiming 'there's an ulterior motive,' and insisting the studio was trying to bully his smaller company.
STORY: Harvey Weinstein Talks 'Butler' Dispute at 'Fruitvale Station' Screening
'I was asked by two execs at Warner Brothers, which I'm happy testify to, that if I gave them back the rights to The Hobbit they would drop the claim,' Weinstein explained. 'For a 1916 short? This was used as a bullying tactic. I think this is 100%. This was the big guy trying to hit the small guy.'
Weinstein, who appeared with attorney David Boies and MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd, says he's still pushing for a resolution to The Weinstein Co.'s dispute with Warner Bros. over the title of its upcoming Lee Daniels' film The Butler.
The MPAA's Title Registration Bureau ruled in an arbitration Tuesday that The Weinstein Co. couldn't use the title for its upcoming film because a 1916 short in the Warner Bros. library shares the same name. The Weinstein Co. is appealing the arbitrator's ruling.
Meanwhile, both Dodd and Boies said they wanted a resolution to the conflict.
'[Warner Bros. and The Weinstein Co.] need to sit down and resolve this,' Dodd said on CBS' morning show. 'There's an appeals process, go through that. There's no reason why this needs to become as large an issue as it is.'
Dodd later added, 'Sit down and work it out. This is silly.'
ANALYSIS: Few Options for Weinstein Co. in Wake of MPAA 'Butler' Ruling
When it was pointed out that the clock is ticking, since the film's set to be released on August 16, Boies said 'We're going to have to find a way to get this important Civil Rights movie out.'
Weinstein also noted that in order to prevent having to pay $25,000 a day in penalties, the company's pulled its trailers from theaters and taken down its website promoting the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment