With the abrupt departure of Marianne Melec Hall as chairman of the The truly scary aspects of the Tribunal's status are (1) that no pres- To the best of my knowledge I'm the only person under consideration as I should be delighted to come to washington at my expense to testify Sincerely, Disney stockholders win in L.A. court re Steinberg injunction By PAUL DILESKI Disney stockholders won another round Wednesday in the Saul Steinberg "greenmail" court case when a state appeals court in Los Angeles up held a lower court injunction freezing profits the New York financier gar nered in his hostile takeover attempt of Walt Disney Prods. Stating that the stockholders have a "reasonable chance" to prove that Disney's board of directors violated a fiduciary relationship. Second Dis trict Juice Earl Hinson and two other judges on the panel let stand a Los Angeles Superior Court prelimi pary injunction issued last July that requires Steinberg to hold $73 million in trust pending the outcome of the , ought by the stockholders against Steinberg and the Disney board of director, "We think it's a landmark decision in that it is the first of its kind to declare greenmail illegal," stockholder attorney Michael Hennigan said: Hennigan said he thought the court decision could have a chilling effect on how takeover attempts. "I think the court sent a message that it's going to be tough in California to engage in the practice of greenmail. ... If you're going to take mer a company. you had better go through with it be cause you are not going to sell your shares out at a premium," he said. In the opinion of the three justices, Disney management was acting to protect itself, not the shareholders, when it paid a total of $77 a share (or $325 million) to buy back Steinberg's 12% interest in the company. At the same time the judges decided Steinberg, as the major stockholder, violated his duty to the other 60,000 shareholders. Disney spokesman Ben Chester said, "This is a long-term thing. The Steinberg group may decide to appeal. We're still waiting for this case to be decided in the lower court and no date has yet been set." At press time, attorneys for Steinberg had not returned phone calls. ABC tags Burnett NEW-YORK- Carol Burnett will tar in her first comedy special for ABC to a during the 1985-86 season. The special will showcase the unique tangé of Carol Burnett's performing talents. Joining Burnett will be various guest stars (to be announced shortly), in a stylish and contemporary one-hour program. By DAVID JANDA CHICAGO -- The 10th annual con vention of the Assn. of Film Commis sioners got under way yesterday with some 160 commissioners from across the United States. Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Canada. Suzy Kel Gimme a Break's' lett. Illinois film commissioner and host of Cincposium '85, is pleased with this year's record turnout. battle is over." Joe O'Kane, San Jose film commi sioner, noted, "There is no school, no book, that teaches how to be a film commissioner. You have to be ambi dextrous. You must have the lobbyin: skills of a politician, be a budget direv tor and tour guide." Joe Glass, director of the film office in Arkansas- the state that put itself on the map by offering a 5% production rebate-announced plans for yet another effort by his state to promote production. Cutting through all the bureacracy Glass told The Hollywood Reporter and red tape is the hardest part Sweet dies at age 65 that a committee of major Arkansas being a commissioner, according to Dolph Sweet, 65, died May 8, after a long illness. Born in New York City. he grew up in Northpost, Long Island and was educated at the Univ. of Alabrama and Columbia College at Columbia Univ., where he earned an MA in Eglish and comparative drama. Taking a tempora in after World War II as an English teacher, coach and director of plays at Barnard College of Columbia Univ., he stayed for 12 years, eventually becoming head of the college's drama division. With more than 50 theatre roles to his credit, the Broadway shows encompassed "Rhinoceros," "Streamers." "The Penny War." "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window," and the musical "Billy." His feature films include "You're a Big Boy Now," "Heaven Can Wait." "Which Way is Up?" and "The New Centurions." Sweet's most recent role was that of Carl Kanisky, police chief on "Gimme a Break." Additionally, he had made more than 70 appearances on primetime TV productions. He also portrayed Gil on the daytime series "Another World" for four years. A memorial service will be held on May 11 at 2:30 p.m. at St. Bridget of Sweden Church, 7100 Whitaker Ave. in Van Nuys. His costar from "Gimme a Break," Nell Carter, will deliver the eulogy. He is survived by his wife, actress Iris Braun. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. Wolper to produce Ford bio for ABC David 4. Wolper will produce a three-hour telefeature for ABC based on "Times of My Life," the autobiography of former First Lady Betty Ford. The film will be produced in association with Warner Bros. TV. Karen Hall will adapt “Times of My Life" for TV. Wolper noted that he had been trying for five years to convince Berty Ford to allow a TV version of her book, and he was "delighted" that she has finally agreed to do it. VIDEOTHEQUE 27 $121212682EE# bankers, investment counselors, CPAs and lawyers will meet June 22 to discuss funding independent production. He foresees a $2 to 3 million financial pool to be used by local producers for first-quarter or first-half money on low-budget independent features. He estimates that four or five films a year could be generated in Arkansas in this manner. First-day workshops, panels and seminars concentrated on how filem commissioners could cut through bureaucracy and work with their communities. Lucy Salenger, Illinois Film Office consultant, said, "Dollars talk. Once your state legislature or city political body recognizes how much money can be brought into a state and how many extra jobs and services can be gener ated by on-location filming, half your Arizona's Bill MacCallum. "It is a 24. hour job." Once the red tape has been cut.. working with local merchants and residents has its own problems, Ken Buchanan, town manager of Florence. Ariz., related an unhappy situation his town had when a TV production.com pany asked to shut down Main Street during the height of the Christmas selling season, Merchants were told the street would be closed for abou 15 minutes of film time. That took over a week.' Buchanan said the town learned in a hurry and now is more sophist. cated. The recent shooting of "Mur phy's Romance" in Florence has gen erated more than $2 million and $ million in nearby Mesa. "The resid uals outweigh the inconvenience," he said. Copyright Tribunal under close scrutiny By THERESA MCMASTERS WASHINGTON With the departure of Marianne Mele Hall as chairman of the troubled Copyright Royal Cervenka inks for "Twilight Zone' TV Exene Cervenka, vocalist and lyricist for acclaimed I..A. rock act X and its offshoot country-folk band the Knitters, will star in a William Friedkin-directed segment on the upcoming CBS "Twilight Zone" TV series. According to executive producer Phil DeCiuere, however, the casting coup doesn't mean the program will be "front-loaded with names you see on MTV" to attract a young, pop musicoriented audience. Nevertheless, while DeGuere says *the revived "Twilight Zone" is "not like 'Miami Vice.' " he has commissioned the Grateful Dead to do the show's theme music, which he de scribes as "essentially abstract, and not a pop tune." DeCiuere picked the Dead because "they're world-renowned experts in the Twilight Zonc." In the Friedkin-directed segment, titled "Night Crawlers," Cervenka portrays a waitress named Cheryl who encounters the "ghosts of Vietnam coining back to life," according to DeGucre, who claims the rocker's act ing is "first-rate, excellent" and may even debut the series this fall. The executive producer stressed that Crevent s'c sppen snce get the use of ty Tribunal there are now only twe members left at the five-member panci that makes decisions on how to parcel out some $100 million a year it collects in copyright royalty fees. Hall resigned from the CRT We nesday under pressure from the Whit House after a congressional uprow over her role in editing a booklet th was derogatory to blacks and after several members of the House Judic: ary subcommittee questioned not only her ability to do a fair job but whether the CRT was able to function at all. given the lack of expertise its membc. have in copyright laws. Her resignation prompted Rep. Bob Kastenmeier (D-Wis.), chairman of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over copyright matters, to question White House appointments and the qualification of those made to the CRT. He said, "We need to conside whether the tribunal can discharge the duties imposed on it and whether it should be reformed or eliminated. Th subcommittee intends to look into it in the near future." Hall's departure leaves only Ed ward Ray and Mario Aguero out of what is supposed to be a five-member commission. Ray, who has been with the CRT since 1982, is a former record producer and distributor. Aguero who joined the tribunal one year ago, is a Cuban immigrant and former producer of TV and concerts. Sen. Charles Mathias (R-Md.; chairman of the Senate copyright subcommitter wha ་ཀ་ smions tho As you know during the 98th Congress, our Subcommittee devoted much time and attention to examining the operations of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. Hearings were held and ultimately a bill was favorably reported (H.R. 6164) that, in large part, was designed to improve the functioning of the CRT. In brief, H.R. 6164 authorizes the Tribunal to hire an economist and a general counsel, reduces the number of commissioners from 5 to 3, sets forth objective criteria that the Tribunal shall consider in setting copyright royalty rates for retransmission of distant signals by cable television, and modifies the current law relating to judicial review of final Tribunal decisions.. We would like to solicit Tribunal comment on the sections of H.R. 6164 as they relate directly to your agency. You need not take a position on Title II of the bill, which sets forth provisions concerning retransmission of distant signals and tiering. As regards the staffing needs of the Tribunal, we are cognizant of the In our capacity as ranking members on your oversight Subcommittee, we will persist in our efforts to focus on the staff needs of the CRT through legislative hearings and oversight. However, since you already have the funds available to take action, it is our opinion that additional legislative authorization is not necessary prior to your hiring a staff. In conclusion, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal is already six years old: a relatively mature age for government agencies. The days are long since past when arguments could be presented to courts or Congress that the youth of the CRT meant that it was entitled to more deference, to be less responsive to the tax dollar and the public interest, and to render a less than satisfactory work product. Please accept these comments as being constructively made. We look forward to working with you and Commissioners Edward Ray and Mario Aguero during the 99th Congress. In advance, thank you for your time and cooperation. On behalf of the Tribunal, I would like to thank you for your time and interest as displayed in your joint letter with Congressman Moorhead of December 18, 1984. You will be pleased to know that we are actively in the process of hiring a General Counsel, which selection should be completed shortly. Unfortunately, there is not enough money in the budget to hire a full time economist, however, we hope to have some funds available for economic studies, as needed this year. If a bill such as H.R. 6164 is passed we presume additional funds will be allocated to cover a full time economist. We shall be glad to offer comments on any legislation which impacts on the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. We await your solicitations. Lastly, Commissioners Ray, Aguero and myself are very dedicated to serving the copyright owners, the industry users and the general public whose collective rights and claims have been entrusted to us. With the continued support of your committee and other federal agencies who have helped us during our transition, we hope to deliver a more than satisfactory work product. We thank you again for your time, concern and interest. Travanne Thule Hall Marianne Mele Hall Chairman MMH/CC |