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发帖数: 1 | 1 “CAA denies Worldview’s spurious allegations and will defend itself
vigorously in court,” lawyer Jerry Bernstein told Deadline this evening in
response to a scorching lawsuit filed earlier Thursday full of allegations
of dirty financial deeds by the agency.
Essentially a husk of a company since a series of calamities in 2014 and a
slew of legal actions , Worldview are claiming that one of the causes of
their ills was the $55 million they were fraudulently induced to invest in
some 20 films under CAA’s tutorage. Flicks that no one else wanted anything
to put money in and were just moving forward to line CAA and its clients’
pockets says the once Christopher Woodrow run company.
“Worldview has been embroiled in litigation in New York filed against it by
its own investors, accusing its management of breach of duty and improper
conduct with regard to the very investments about which Worldview now seeks
to cast blame on CAA,” added the Blank Rome LLP attorney and long time
outside counsel for the uber-agency of the self described decimated
financiers.
This looks to be one for the long haul.
PREVIOUSLY, 1:10 PM: The long litigation-fueled expiration of the once-
soaring Worldview Entertainment pulled CAA into court today with a
multimillion-dollar fraud suit and declarations of “corruption at the
highest level of one of the most respected talent agencies in the world.”
“Plaintiffs’ reliance on CAA’s promises was misplaced, and their decision
to partner with CAA in connection with the financing of numerous
independent films was a disastrous mistake,” the filing (read it here)
Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges of the first-look agreement
the parties had from 2010-2015. Seeking a jury trial for some return on the
more than $55 million that the Birdman financier invested in box office
bombs like Devil’s Knot and the Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy-starring Child 44
, the now virtually nonexistent Worldview claims it was the victim of an
elaborate card trick of sorts to bilk them out of big bucks and saddle them
with turkeys.
“Plaintiffs have recently obtained overwhelming proof that, rather than
advancing Plaintiffs’ interests and advocating on their behalf, CAA
systematically engaged in predatory practices toward Plaintiffs that were
intended to deprive them and their investors of tens of millions of dollars
in order to benefit CAA and its more favored partners and clients,” the
complaint asserts, pulling in a stage-left cameo by the “now-discredited
Harvey Weinstein,” accusations of underhanded strategies by uber-agency
execs Richard Lovett and Roeg Sutherland and name checks Vince Vaughn and
the pic Term Life.
While long an advocate of packaging deals for its clients in an industry
where that is now the norm, CAA told Deadline this afternoon it had not seen
the complaint and declined comment.
For those whose memories are a little cloudy, Worldview formed in 2007 and
took several turns for the worst beginnnig in mid-2014 when, on the heels of
a five-year pact with the Weinstein Company, CEO Christopher Woodrow was
shown the door amid allegations of personal misconduct.
As well as listing specific sums invested in films like 2013’s Blood Ties (
$3.5 million) and the Atom Egoyen-helmed Devil’s Knot ($4.5 million),
Worldview’s attorneys said in the filing they have evidence of “CAA’s
predatory business activities and misconduct toward Plaintiffs, which they
intend to present in the course of these proceedings.” However, despite the
nod to a deeper understanding of what may have really gone down, Worldview
says it does not have more to offer at this time because “CAA has taken
steps to prevent or, at least, to delay Plaintiffs’ ability to disclose
such evidence in this litigation.”
“Once Plaintiffs remove CAA’s frivolous and unfounded road blocks to
public disclosure of the documentary proof, they intend to amend their
pleading to include additional details concerning CAA’s fraud, which are
reflected in these currently non-public materials,” the five-claim
complaint adds.
Where these “additional details” came from is left unsaid, but with legal
battles ongoing in one form or another with ex-CEO Woodrow and investor
Sarah Johnson, the process of discovery somewhere has likely yielded some
interesting reading. Whether the reading will emerge from whatever
protective order might exist is unclear.
Worldview and its various entities are represented by Paul Salvaty and
Michelle Roberts Gonzales of Los Angelese firm Hogan Lovells US LLP. |
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