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| Weinstein Company will fight The Butler title ruling | Weinstein Company will fight The Butler title ruling |
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| Harvey Weinstein has hired a high-profile lawyer to appeal against a ruling that he must change the title of upcoming awards-season hopeful The Butler, according to the Hollywood Reporter. | Harvey Weinstein has hired a high-profile lawyer to appeal against a ruling that he must change the title of upcoming awards-season hopeful The Butler, according to the Hollywood Reporter. |
| The Weinstein Company, which Harvey owns with his brother Bob, lost rights to the title on Tuesday following a ruling by the Motion Picture Association of America's arbitration board. Rival studio Warner Bros claims it maintains the rights courtesy of a little-known 1919 silent comedy short, also called The Butler. | The Weinstein Company, which Harvey owns with his brother Bob, lost rights to the title on Tuesday following a ruling by the Motion Picture Association of America's arbitration board. Rival studio Warner Bros claims it maintains the rights courtesy of a little-known 1919 silent comedy short, also called The Butler. |
| Harvey Weinstein has now hired David Boies, who recently won a landmark victory in the US supreme court against California's gay-marriage ban, Proposition 8. | Harvey Weinstein has now hired David Boies, who recently won a landmark victory in the US supreme court against California's gay-marriage ban, Proposition 8. |
| "The suggestion that there is a danger of confusion between The Weinstein Co's 2013 feature movie and a 1917 [sic] short that has not been shown in theatres, television, DVDs, or in any other way for almost a century makes no sense," said Boies in a statement. "The award has no purpose except to restrict competition and is contrary to public policy." | "The suggestion that there is a danger of confusion between The Weinstein Co's 2013 feature movie and a 1917 [sic] short that has not been shown in theatres, television, DVDs, or in any other way for almost a century makes no sense," said Boies in a statement. "The award has no purpose except to restrict competition and is contrary to public policy." |
| The MPAA board was unequivocal in its ruling, which called on the Weinsteins to immediately desist from labelling their film The Butler. "TWC made continuous use of the unregistered title The Butler in wilful violation of the TRB (Title Registration Bureau) rules," the board said. The TRB is a database of previously used film titles which studios voluntarily check in order to ensure they do not borrow a rival organisation's moniker. In the event of a clash, studios usually negotiate, but the Weinsteins and Warner have chosen to battle it out instead. | The MPAA board was unequivocal in its ruling, which called on the Weinsteins to immediately desist from labelling their film The Butler. "TWC made continuous use of the unregistered title The Butler in wilful violation of the TRB (Title Registration Bureau) rules," the board said. The TRB is a database of previously used film titles which studios voluntarily check in order to ensure they do not borrow a rival organisation's moniker. In the event of a clash, studios usually negotiate, but the Weinsteins and Warner have chosen to battle it out instead. |
| The Butler's much-garlanded cast includes Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker as a servant named Cecil Gaines, based on the real-life White House butler Eugene Allen, who served presidents between 1952 and his retirement in 1986. Oprah Winfrey plays Gaines's wife, Gloria, with Britain's David Oyelowo as his civil-rights activist son, Louis. Robin Williams, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, John Cusack, Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda appear as the various US presidents and first ladies Gaines meets along the way. The film is directed by Precious's Lee Daniels and will debut in the US in October – timing that suggests an Oscars run in 2014. | The Butler's much-garlanded cast includes Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker as a servant named Cecil Gaines, based on the real-life White House butler Eugene Allen, who served presidents between 1952 and his retirement in 1986. Oprah Winfrey plays Gaines's wife, Gloria, with Britain's David Oyelowo as his civil-rights activist son, Louis. Robin Williams, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Minka Kelly, John Cusack, Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda appear as the various US presidents and first ladies Gaines meets along the way. The film is directed by Precious's Lee Daniels and will debut in the US in October – timing that suggests an Oscars run in 2014. |
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