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The Rainmaker
Eriq Gardner
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Weekly
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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May 16, 2022
Johnny Depp’s #MeToo Game Theory
This week’s cross-examination of Amber Heard is being watched, crucially, by a nearly all-male jury. But the real decision before the jury is far more complicated than the he-said-she-said case that’s being tried in the press.
HOLLYWOOD
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May 9, 2022
Copyright Law Is a Joke—Literally
For years, streaming services ignored joke writers when clearing rights, until a cartel of comedians (yes, really) filed a potentially transformative lawsuit. Lawyers for Pandora say it’s a conspiracy.
WASHINGTON
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May 9, 2022
Was Politico’s Supreme Court Leaker an Inside Man?
Four reasons why the media speculation may be overlooking a more mysterious culprit. Plus, what the legal fallout could mean for Julian Assange and James O’Keefe.
HOLLYWOOD
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May 2, 2022
The Hollywood A.I.-I.P. Supernova
Will the robots replace us all one day? Who knows, but chances are they will eventually learn how to create a superhero movie. Ergo, the start of one of the great legal debates in Hollywood history.
HOLLYWOOD
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May 2, 2022
Netflix’s Hollywood Red Line
As Hollywood grapples with the gritty new economics of streaming, industry dealmakers are closely watching whether Netflix will ever pull the ripcord on its singular refusal to provide backend comp.
HOLLYWOOD
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April 25, 2022
Inside HBO’s Lakers Headache
NBA legend Jerry West is demanding a retraction over Winning Time and is hinting at a lawsuit. He’d probably lose, but an industry-shaking upset could depend on… Netflix.
HOLLYWOOD
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April 18, 2022
Hollywood’s Marvel-Disney Horror Story
Fifty years ago, Washington created a legal time bomb that allows the creators behind everything from Robocop and Beetlejuice to The Avengers multiverse to terminate their copyright grants and renegotiate. Welcome to the I.P. apocalypse.
SILICON VALLEY
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April 11, 2022
Elon Musk and the Three Libel Suits
Twitter’s newest activist investor could be called to testify this week at Johnny Depp defamation trial against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. If it happens, it wouldn’t be his first time on the stand.
HOLLYWOOD
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April 4, 2022
The “Shitty Media Men” Lawsuit From Hell
Notes from the legal underbelly of the #MeToo movement, and other pressing issues on my docket.
SILICON VALLEY
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April 1, 2022
How to Make and Lose Millions in an E-Sports Coup
FaZe Clan, a gaming and influencer entertainment company, is trying to clean up its image before going public at a $1 billion valuation. Its legal filings reveal a far messier backstory.