Morning Report - News from Aug. 21, 2002

MOVIES

Downed Pilot Sues Fox and Discovery Channel

Scott O’Grady, a pilot who became a hero after being shot down in Bosnia, has sued Twentieth Century Fox and TV’s Discovery Channel, saying they profited from his ordeal without securing the proper rights. He’s charging the companies with invasion of privacy through the false appropriation of his name.

In papers filed in federal district court in Texarkana, Texas, O’Grady said that Fox’s “Behind Enemy Lines,” released in 2001, was based on his 1995 escape. The film, starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson, revolved around a reconnaissance pilot shot down over Bosnia. Evading hostile forces, he is ultimately saved by the U.S. military.

O’Grady alleges that the commercial value of his name and identity have been damaged by the movie, in which he was portrayed as a “hot-dog” pilot who disobeyed orders and used foul language. He now works as a motivational speaker and has authored a children’s book on his experience.

O’Grady is seeking legal fees and profits from the movie and Discovery’s “Behind Enemy Lines: The Scott O’Grady Story,” which was shown several times over the course of three years before the film hit the screen.

Officials from Fox and the Discovery Channel had no comment.

U.S. Film Quotas: A Hot Topic in Moscow

How many American films are healthy for the Russian marketplace? The question has sparked debate among leading figures in the country’s entertainment community.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Karen Shakhnazarov, head of Mosfilm--Russia’s top movie studio--has publicly called for quotas. Only affirmative action for home-grown filmmakers can restore production to the 150 movies a year turned out during the Soviet era, he maintains.

“The key distributors in Russia are practically all controlled by the Hollywood majors and are obliged to screen around two new films a week. Russian films are squeezed to the least popular show times, said the producer-director, whose own “ Zvezda” was relegated by the popular Pushkin Film Theater to a 9 a.m. slot.

Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi acknowledges that Soviet films constitute only 2% of the market share. But quotas aren’t the answer, he insists, arguing that cutting the number of American films would adversely affect box office--and, therefore, the exhibitors. And it could also cut into the current wave of investment in theaters and distribution, he says.

A Family Feud Over Hendrix Estate

Jimi Hendrix’s father, who died April 17, was gone less than a day when his family started fighting over his estate--valued at more than $100 million.

His son Leon, Jimi’s 54-year-old brother, had his lawyers fax a letter to representatives of Janie Hendrix, his 41-year-old stepsister. Don’t freeze him out of his dad’s holdings, he warned. And the battle has intensified since then, the Seattle Times reports.

On Friday, Leon’s lawyers filed three suits in Seattle’s King County Superior Court, hoping to take control of the estate from Janie. The papers allege that their father was incompetent when he signed a 1998 trust agreement making her the primary heir. Al Hendrix, he said, was “functionally illiterate,” a simple, easily influenced man with a drinking problem. And Janie, he charged, had campaigned to get him to disown his son. Leon’s only inheritance at this point: one gold Jimi Hendrix record--selected by Janie.

Janie paints Leon as a former drug addict and criminal and refutes charges that she interfered with his efforts to enter the music industry.

Having been named president of the company that manages Jimi’s estate in 1995, she is credited with helping to raise its value. Once worth $500,000, it earned $8 million last year, according to Forbes magazine.

MUSIC

Philharmonic to Keep an Online Tour Diary

For the first time, fans of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and music director Esa-Pekka Salonen can keep up with the orchestra’s European tour long-distance. Just log on to www .laphil.com to read a daily journal kept by managing director Deborah Borda, the musicians and board members.

The trip, which includes stops in Lucerne, Edinburgh, London, Brussels and Helsinki, begins today and runs through Sept. 5. All the performances, some of which were previewed at the Hollywood Bowl in recent weeks, are sold out.

QUICK TAKES

Though Barbra Streisand has “retired” from performing, she has agreed to sing at a Democratic Congressional Committee fund-raiser at the Kodak Theatre on Sept. 29....Gloria Estefan and Jimmy Smits will co-host the third-annual Latin Grammy Awards on Sept. 18....Despite a letter-writing campaign from fans, A&E; has canceled its drama series “Nero Wolfe.” ... CBS has ordered six episodes of Universal’s one-hour drama about a law firm set in the future, from writer-producers Paul Attanasio and Ed Zuckerman.... NAACP Image Awards President Ernestine Peters has left the organization amid rumors of a investigation into its finances. Peters would not return phone calls, and NAACP executives declined comment. Executives with the organization said the ceremony would still take place next year.... ABC’s “Good Morning America” will originate from inside the Pentagon on Sept. 11.

Elaine Dutka