Deal Diary

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on the entertainment industry, particularly compared to prior recessions. Studios have halted or delayed production on televisions shows and movies indefinitely, resulting in mass layoffs and/or salary cuts, live tours and concert tours have been cancelled, and movie theaters have shuttered. In particular, the movie industry, which many have considered “recession proof” as a relatively inexpensive means of escape, has and will continue to suffer enormous losses as movie theaters remain closed and studios pull release dates on their biggest summer blockbusters.

The CARES Act, the most extensive federal government response to the COVID-19 crisis, was signed by President Trump on March 27, 2020. Among the many components, entertainment companies may benefit from programs under the Small Business Administration and Paycheck Protection Program to survive the negative economic impact of this unprecedented crisis.

Akin Gump partner Davina Garrod led a panel of antitrust experts on Mergers in the Digital Era at the Hotel Le Plaza, Brussels, on Monday, November 25, 2019, as part of the Annual International Bank of Commerce Advanced European Union Competition Law Conference. Davina, European Commission Directorate-General Competition official Balasz Horvath and Royal Business Bank partner Adrian Majumdar discussed:

The Case of Bruce Cohen and the Implications for Other Talent

Lantern Entertainment, LLC (Lantern), which acquired substantially all of the assets of The Weinstein Company (TWC) in a 363 sale in 2018, has faced numerous objections from actors alleging they are owed unpaid profit participations pursuant to various agreements in connection with the films Lantern acquired for the period prior to the date Lantern acquired the assets from TWC.

Hollywood made its annual descent upon Park City, Utah, from January 24, 2019 through February 3, 2019, for another year of deal-making at the preeminent indie playground, the Sundance Film Festival. From Amazon Studio’s resurrection of the Hollywood megadeal, to the unprecedented diverse class of storytellers finding ever-unique ways to capture audiences and critics alike, Akin Gump lawyers brought back the following takeaways from Main Street this year:

The technology on everyone’s mind at this year’s CES was 5G. So named because it is the fifth-generation wireless networking technology, offering more than just incremental performance improvements over 4G—some experts are predicting that the technology will usher in a “fourth industrial revolution.” Some of the most immediate and predictable effects of 5G will be felt in the media and entertainment industries, where 5G is expected to unlock more than a trillion dollars in new revenues.

In August 2018, Twentieth Century Fox (Fox) pulled a scene from the recent The Predator sequel after learning from the film’s female star that Steven Wilder Striegel, an actor featured in that scene, is a registered sex offender. In a statement made to the Los Angeles Times, a Fox spokesperson said, “We were not aware of his background during the casting process due to legal limitations that impede studios from running background checks on actors.” While California law poses considerable limitations on an employer’s ability to make hiring decisions based on information learned from a background check, it is legally possible to do so subject to the requirements and other factors described below. Fox and other studios may want to consider implementing background checks on the cast and crew associated with a particular project in order to avoid the cost associated with last-minute, unbudgeted changes. If Fox had performed a background check on Striegel, it might have avoided the cost associated with cutting a scene so late in the post-production process as well as the negative publicity associated with Striegel’s involvement with the film - those costs would have significantly increased if Striegel’s status had been discovered after the film had already been released. 

Akin Gump litigation partner Peter Altman was quoted by Variety  for an article regarding insider trading concerns which arise when large gatherings of CEOs occur, specifically at annual conferences like the annual Allen & Co. media retreat. Altman said, “People try to get access to public company information all the time through meetings with management or calls to investor relations, but the concentration of power brokers heightens the possibility of improper exchanges of information taking place. That’s what’s potentially problematic.”