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John Landis suing Michael Jackson?!

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Sometimes these things happen. I don't see Michael intentionally doing somebody wrong. But still, he has to fix this.
 
It'll be fixed. His former GM, Raymone Bain was supposed to have oversight over issues like this considering she consolidated his business under the "MJ Company."

I'm sure it will be settled long before any civil litigation.
 
It'll be fixed. His former GM, Raymone Bain was supposed to have oversight over issues like this considering she consolidated his business under the "MJ Company."

I'm sure it will be settled long before any civil litigation.
 
how can some fans still think the MJ Company is/may still be active ?
where is the website, tours and more Raymone promised?....

fingers crossed for this case to be solved pretty soon though...
 
MsTenda said:
OK...

1. Michael Jackson is under contract with Sony Music (Then called CBS Records)

2. When you're under contract, you are given an advance by your label to create a product.

3. As the artist, you have to pay that advance back. After the advance is paid back, you will start receiving royalties (Sync/Mechanical/Performace, etc) that's collected by the record label. The albums master recordings will belong to the label so they can reprint and redistribute AT WILL to make money.

Of course the label collects money for distribution, creation of video, paying for concerts, etc. It's THEIR PRODUCT along with Michael Jackson. And they have to pay Michael his royalty.

Now, whatever contract Michael has signed with John Landis has NOTHING to DO with Sony Music. There is no contract between Sony and John Landis. So, to make it simple lets look at it like this.

I give Michael a red velvet cake every single month. Michael tells you "Hey, I'll give you half of this cake every month too because you are my best friend." You say "Sure but I need this in writing" and you two sign a contract stating that Michael will give you half of his red velvet cake.

Then, Michael forgets and stops giving you half of his cake. Who's fault is that?

It's really simple... :lol:
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mmmm cake :shifty:
 
mjdatabank said:
how can some fans still think the MJ Company is/may still be active ?
where is the website, tours and more Raymone promised?....

fingers crossed for this case to be solved pretty soon though...
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nah company is not active. raymone did place all mj's companies within mj company tho. wonder what mj company did with the funds? :doh:
 
L.J said:
mmmm cake :shifty:

he's just doing what most people would do when they're not getting paid what is owed to them. Landis is/was a fairly good director imo
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I think this was a bad oversight on Michael's part. As I said, I don't think Michael did this on purpose. He's too good a person for that. But nevertheless, Michael has to deal with it. I hope this is resolved before too long so that they both can move on.
 
MsTenda said:
OK...

1. Michael Jackson is under contract with Sony Music (Then called CBS Records)

2. When you're under contract, you are given an advance by your label to create a product.

3. As the artist, you have to pay that advance back. After the advance is paid back, you will start receiving royalties (Sync/Mechanical/Performace, etc) that's collected by the record label. The albums master recordings will belong to the label so they can reprint and redistribute AT WILL to make money.

Of course the label collects money for distribution, creation of video, paying for concerts, etc. It's THEIR PRODUCT along with Michael Jackson. And they have to pay Michael his royalty.

Now, whatever contract Michael has signed with John Landis has NOTHING to DO with Sony Music. There is no contract between Sony and John Landis. So, to make it simple lets look at it like this.

I give Michael a red velvet cake every single month. Michael tells you "Hey, I'll give you half of this cake every month too because you are my best friend." You say "Sure but I need this in writing" and you two sign a contract stating that Michael will give you half of his red velvet cake.

Then, Michael forgets and stops giving you half of his cake. Who's fault is that?

It's really simple... :lol:
Click to expand...

It does'nt get any simpler than that!:clapping:

Anyway, none of this is my business, so hopefully like everything else, if Michael is indeed in the wrong here, he'll just rectify this situation and be done with it. If John Landis is owed money, then he should be paid. love ya Mike, but right is right.:yes:
 
ExoticPrincess said:
It does'nt get any simpler than that!:clapping:

Anyway, none of this is my business, so hopefully like everything else, if Michael is indeed in the wrong here, he'll just rectify this situation and be done with it. If John Landis is owed money, then he should be paid. love ya Mike, but right is right.:yes:
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I like Michael alot. But you are totally on point here.
 
ExoticPrincess said:
It does'nt get any simpler than that!:clapping:

Anyway, none of this is my business, so hopefully like everything else, if Michael is indeed in the wrong here, he'll just rectify this situation and be done with it. If John Landis is owed money, then he should be paid. love ya Mike, but right is right.:yes:
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i agree
 
correct me if im wrong but....

1. Didn't this lawsuit come up already before hand

and

2. Wasn't michael and landis supposedly spotted together and possibly working on something NEW??

and if so...

couldn't john have just told mike without suing o'l boy. lol. Anyways I know I have heard of this this before *sigh deja vu'*
 
so JL is asking for monies on the video of thriller, not thriller the song. just wondering, in the last 4 years, how has the video or the concept been accruing monies? is it from sales of the dvds with the thriller video on it? or every time like MTV or VH1 or whomever plays it, like they do with songs and radio stations?

just wondering, cause i'm not sure how a video earns money, and how JL come up with a $10 mil figure?

as far as 50% goes for the video/concept of video whatever, it doesnt seem really off to me cause its a collaboration with 1/2 of it being music and performance of Michael and his zombies and the 1/2 of it being the visual which is JL's part?
 
^ I'm not gonna pretend to know how royalties work, but I assume it's from airplay (MTV etc) and there was also Thriller25? video was on all them T25 deluxe versions or whatevere they were called. Maybe that comes into it?

Maybe also sales of HIStory DVDs etc
 
friend said:
so JL is asking for monies on the video of thriller, not thriller the song. just wondering, in the last 4 years, how has the video or the concept been accruing monies? is it from sales of the dvds with the thriller video on it? or every time like MTV or VH1 or whomever plays it, like they do with songs and radio stations?

just wondering, cause i'm not sure how a video earns money, and how JL come up with a $10 mil figure?

as far as 50% goes for the video/concept of video whatever, it doesnt seem really off to me cause its a collaboration with 1/2 of it being music and performance of Michael and his zombies and the 1/2 of it being the visual which is JL's part?
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Landis and his company, Levitsky Productions, filed a complaint in the western district of the Los Angeles Superior Court last Wednesday accusing the King of Pop of "fraudulent, malicious and oppressive conduct" – essentially, failing to provide any accounting of the “Thriller” profits for the past four years "and earlier", and failing to pay Landis his 50 per cent cut of the net proceeds.

Landis co-wrote and directed the 14-minute video of “Thriller” in 1983, significantly pushing the artistic boundaries of what was then the fledgling art of music video. The popular director – previously responsible for such hits as Animal House, The Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London -- also directed an hour-long "making of" documentary.

A contract signed at the time states clearly that Jackson and his company, Optimum Productions, would pay Landis 50 per cent of net profits from both the video and the documentary, and also provide regular financial statements on revenues – quarterly in the first instance, and then yearly from 1986 on.

The contract, drawn up in September 1983 when production on the video was already underway, is signed by Jackson is his trademark looping handwriting, arcing up to the top of the page and swooping down to the bottom.

Landis's attorney, Miles Feldman of Liner Yankelevitz Sunshine & Regenstreif, said it was the closest thing he could imagine to an open and shut case. "I can't understand what they are doing to John Landis' company. It is such a straight ahead thing," Feldman said. "It makes no sense at all to me."

The contract includes rights to dramatic and musical works, but the extent to which any show is based on the video, as opposed to Jackson's music, may be open to interpretation -- or negotiation.
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So for instance, the Thriller musical in which the producer acquired the rights from Michael Jackson in the amount of 100,000.00 USD. The play will be based off of the video. Michael (according to the contract) must pay 50% of that to John Landis.

Each time the video is played on MTV/BET/VH1/Much Music and other video networks, a licensing fee is acquired. Sony (the distributor of the video) will get their cut and the rest to MJ. MJ then is supposed to pay John Landis 50%. Same with the sale of the video/dvd. Monies collected by the distributor will go to Michael after the distributor gets their cut. Michael is then supposed pay Landis.

John Landis co-wrote the script (story board) and directed the film so that's where his 1/2 comes in. Hope this helps!
 
Doubt its Mikes fault, this'll all be settled in a matter of days.
 
Im quite angry bout this

John only directed the video, the rest is of michael's own work
i just think it a lil silly
 
MsTenda said:
So for instance, the Thriller musical in which the producer acquired the rights from Michael Jackson in the amount of 100,000.00 USD. The play will be based off of the video. Michael (according to the contract) must pay 50% of that to John Landis.

Each time the video is played on MTV/BET/VH1/Much Music and other video networks, a licensing fee is acquired. Sony (the distributor of the video) will get their cut and the rest to MJ. MJ then is supposed to pay John Landis 50%. Same with the sale of the video/dvd. Monies collected by the distributor will go to Michael after the distributor gets their cut. Michael is then supposed pay Landis.

John Landis co-wrote the script (story board) and directed the film so that's where his 1/2 comes in. Hope this helps!
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:doh::doh::doh::doh:

50 friggin percent!!
 
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L.J said:
^ I'm not gonna pretend to know how royalties work, but I assume it's from airplay (MTV etc) and there was also Thriller25? video was on all them T25 deluxe versions or whatevere they were called. Maybe that comes into it?

Maybe also sales of HIStory DVDs etc
Click to expand...

MsTenda said:
So for instance, the Thriller musical in which the producer acquired the rights from Michael Jackson in the amount of 100,000.00 USD. The play will be based off of the video. Michael (according to the contract) must pay 50% of that to John Landis.

Each time the video is played on MTV/BET/VH1/Much Music and other video networks, a licensing fee is acquired. Sony (the distributor of the video) will get their cut and the rest to MJ. MJ then is supposed to pay John Landis 50%. Same with the sale of the video/dvd. Monies collected by the distributor will go to Michael after the distributor gets their cut. Michael is then supposed pay Landis.

John Landis co-wrote the script (story board) and directed the film so that's where his 1/2 comes in. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

ty :)
 
50% does seem much but MJ signed off on it.. if someone was to offer you a 50% stake in something I'm sure you'd take it also..
 
I feel ya rahul!

I thought john landis would the the least person that would sue mj....guess i was wrong
 
8701girl said:
Im quite angry bout this

John only directed the video, the rest is of michael's own work
i just think it a lil silly
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I dont think it's silly, if someone owed me money and wasnt paying me I'd ask for it too.
He didn't just direct it, he was involved iwth the storyboard too, John Landis is a fairly decent director too.
From the looks of things he's tried a few avenues to get his $$ back including commenting about it to the press guess he's been forced to go legal roads to recoup his losses.
 
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