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The Rainmaker
Eriq Gardner
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Monday
The Rainmaker is focused on how the players in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Washington, and Wall Street are leveraging the courts (and their expensive lawyers!) for their own gain. It's brought to you by Eriq Gardner, America's foremost expert on media and entertainment law.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
HOLLYWOOD
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August 8, 2022
The Netflix-Disney Legal Squeeze
Netflix’s furious behind-the-scenes negotiation with Hollywood’s biggest union is putting rivals like Disney in a bind: either the studios take a similar deal, or face the wrath of California’s left-wing legislature. The outcome could redefine the entertainment calendar—or trigger a massive lawsuit.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 31, 2022
Ron Meyer, the O.J. Movie, and L’Affaire Charlotte Kirk
One of the most sordid episodes in modern Hollywood enters a strange new phase of legal maneuvering.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 25, 2022
Inside Lachlan & Rupert’s Defamation Endgame
A pair of historic libel suits from Dominion and Smartmatic could open the door to billions of dollars in damages. But the smartest legal minds on both sides of the case perceive an exit strategy for the Murdochs—one in which Fox Corp avoids paying anything at all.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 24, 2022
The Final Kiss Off from Hollywood’s Secret Keeper
Anthony Pellicano, the notorious former “private investigator to the stars,” has quietly returned to Hollywood and resumed pitching his services—only for a group of his long-ago victims to resurface, seeking nearly $4 million of justice.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 18, 2022
Zaslav’s Superlawyer on Biden, Cuomo, & Bryan Freedman
Daniel Petrocelli became an entertainment law celebrity for beating O.J., saving Superman, and clearing the way for Zaz’s media empire. His next slate of cases could determine the future of publishing, and of Hollywood itself.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 11, 2022
The $7.8 Billion Music Case of the Century
In just a few weeks, an obscure three-judge panel will oversee a trial in the shadowy recesses of the Library of Congress that could decide the fate of Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, YouTube and more. Why isn’t anyone paying attention?
HOLLYWOOD
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July 5, 2022
The Brangelina Rosé Suit from Hell
The litigation spans three countries, involves a suspect connection to the war in Ukraine, some of the fanciest white shoe law firms on Earth, a Russian vodka baron, and the Hamptons’ favorite summer rosé.
WASHINGTON
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June 27, 2022
Kavanaugh & the New Fortune 500 Civil War
In a post-Roe world, each and every subject related to abortion will invite legal scrutiny: new attempts to regulate corporate behavior will come not just from states hostile to abortion, but also blue states that wish to punish those who interfere with someone’s ability to get an abortion.
WASHINGTON
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June 27, 2022
Charles Harder vs. Vice
Harder, the attorney who drove a stake through Gawker, is taking aim at the media industry again with a case against Vice Media that could tempt the Supreme Court to reverse The New York Times v. Sullivan—and another targeting The Times, itself.
HOLLYWOOD
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June 20, 2022
The Times vs. Twitter, Round Two
Some of America’s most august media companies are struggling to get reporters off social media, where advocacy and backbiting have become a reputational risk. A series of legal tests could make that much harder.