Judge: "Bones" stars and producer owed $174 million

[mainer]

Talk about crooked Hollywood accounting. "Bones" was a hit TV show, ran for 11 (or more) seasons. Studio claims it never made a profit.

In fact, studios ALWAYS claim their long-running hit TV shows never make a profit. You wonder why studios would keep producing hit shows that invariably "lose" money.

On February 27, 2019, a February 4th ruling of an arbitrator's award against 21st Century Fox Inc. (“Fox”) was made public for $179 million. The claimants were key personnel behind the TV crime drama, “Bones.” The case as based upon Fox wrongfully withholding “chunks of the show's profits.”

The ruling revealed how JAMS arbitrator Peter D. Lichtman (“Lichtman”) viewed the evidence against Fox. for their conduct alleged by the “Bones” team, who wrote the books that inspired the series. Lichtman also “fumed” at what he called the “cavalier” attitude of Fox and its witnesses toward the arbitration proceedings.

Lichtman, a retired judge, rendered what can only be characterized as a high-dollar, harshly worded ruling, saying the case made by the “Bones” stars “was presented and supported through the testimony of the Fox witnesses themselves.”

Lichtman explained, “It is Fox and Fox alone that is responsible for the evidentiary findings made herein…If this had been a jury trial, counsel for Fox would be decrying a runaway verdict comprised of passion and prejudice. However, to reiterate, this ignores that it was Fox's own employees, executives and witnesses that provided the evidence for the arbitrator to make the findings.”

https://www.lowelaw.com/174-million-awarded-to-bones-cast-from-fox

[Va Lefty]

1. Same thing happened to James Garner in the 70's

Studio claimed The Rockford Files never made any money. Garner took them to court.

From Wikipedia:

"In July 1983, Garner filed suit against Universal Studios for US$16.5 million in connection with his ongoing dispute from The Rockford Files. The suit charged Universal with "breach of contract; failure to deal in good faith and fairly; and fraud and deceit". Garner alleged that Universal was "creatively accounting", two words that are now part of the Hollywood lexicon.[35] The suit was eventually settled out of court in 1989. As part of the agreement, Garner could not disclose the amount of the settlement.[13][36]

"The industry is like it always has been. It's a bunch of greedy people," he stated in 1990.[37] Garner sued Universal again in 1998 for $2.2 million over syndication royalties. In this suit, he charged the studio with "deceiving him and suppressing information about syndication". He was supposed to receive $25,000 per episode that ran in syndication, but Universal charged him "distribution fees". He also felt that the studio did not release the show to the highest bidder for the episode reruns"

[mainer]

3. I think "Walking Dead" is also involved in an audit dispute

The studio claims it hasn't made a profit.

A talent agent at CAA once told me that as soon as a show goes to series, everyone who's due points on any net profit needs to IMMEDIATELY request an audit. Because there's a years-long waiting list just to get the books audited.

[underpants]

4. "Hollywood accounting" Forrest Gump, Jedi, Batman etc all had no profit.

Winston Groom's price for the screenplay rights to his novel Forrest Gump included a 3% share of the profits; however, due to Hollywood accounting, the film's commercial success was converted into a net loss, and Groom received only $350,000 for the rights and an additional $250,000 from the studio.[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting

[Sherman A1]

2. Good

Hope they get every dime they are owed and more.