Hollywood actors, writers and executives gathered at a memorial on Sunday in Santa Monica to remember power attorney Bert Fields with a string of stories about his legal prowess and sometimes unorthodox way of helping clients.
The larger-than-life litigator — with clients that included The Beatles, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Edward G. Robinson and Michael Jackson — knew a lot of the secrets behind Hollywood scandals that happened throughout his six-decade-long career. Not to mention, he was yanked into a federal wiretapping and conspiracy probe into notorious private investigator Anthony Pellicano in the early 2000s.
The video that played to kick off the tribute addressed the controversies head-on — putting up a fake tabloid cover with the word “escandalo.” It also included a 1967 clip of his appearance on “Dragnet” (Jack Webb was a client) and a tribute from Tom Cruise.
“He’s a very unique adventure, someone I knew we could always count on.
The larger-than-life litigator — with clients that included The Beatles, Warren Beatty, Tom Cruise, Edward G. Robinson and Michael Jackson — knew a lot of the secrets behind Hollywood scandals that happened throughout his six-decade-long career. Not to mention, he was yanked into a federal wiretapping and conspiracy probe into notorious private investigator Anthony Pellicano in the early 2000s.
The video that played to kick off the tribute addressed the controversies head-on — putting up a fake tabloid cover with the word “escandalo.” It also included a 1967 clip of his appearance on “Dragnet” (Jack Webb was a client) and a tribute from Tom Cruise.
“He’s a very unique adventure, someone I knew we could always count on.
- 10/2/2022
- by Joe Bel Bruno
- The Wrap
Women In Film, Los Angeles announced today that they have elected five new members to its Board of Directors. Syrinthia Studer, Andrea Nelson Meigs, Talitha Watkins, Vanessa Morrison and Tracy McGrath have joined the board of industry leaders who represent diverse aspects of the screen industries.
“The 2019 Board of Directors will bring valuable guidance to our organization’s programming and advocacy work,” said Wif Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer. “They share our commitment to the mission of enacting change to make the entertainment industry equitable for all women, in front of and behind the camera.”
Board President Amy Baer added, “With the election of these new members, the Board gains the invaluable expertise of five of our esteemed colleagues in the screen industries. Each has established herself as an influential figure in our industry, leading to an improved and expanded definition of how women are represented on-screen, off-screen, and in positions of corporate leadership.
“The 2019 Board of Directors will bring valuable guidance to our organization’s programming and advocacy work,” said Wif Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer. “They share our commitment to the mission of enacting change to make the entertainment industry equitable for all women, in front of and behind the camera.”
Board President Amy Baer added, “With the election of these new members, the Board gains the invaluable expertise of five of our esteemed colleagues in the screen industries. Each has established herself as an influential figure in our industry, leading to an improved and expanded definition of how women are represented on-screen, off-screen, and in positions of corporate leadership.
- 3/26/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The big table at one of Hollywood’s biggest law firms just got a little bigger with Greenberg Glusker promoting Sally James and Mark Muir to partners.
“We are pleased to elevate these four attorneys and welcome them to the firm’s partnership,” said Greenberg’s Managing Partner Bob Baradaran said in a statement on the advancement of the Entertainment Group’s James and Muir, along with estate planning lawyer Brian D. Berman and business lawyer Lori L. Werderitch. “Each one exemplifies the qualities of character and the commitment to client service that are the hallmark of our firm’s brand.”
The realm of superlawyers Bert Fields, Bonnie Eskenazi, Schuyler “Sky” Moore and Matt Galsor, Gg’s Hollywood division has had a piece in most of the biggest deals and financing arrangements in town over the decades. The Galsor headed Entertainment Group also directly represents the likes of Tom Cruise,...
“We are pleased to elevate these four attorneys and welcome them to the firm’s partnership,” said Greenberg’s Managing Partner Bob Baradaran said in a statement on the advancement of the Entertainment Group’s James and Muir, along with estate planning lawyer Brian D. Berman and business lawyer Lori L. Werderitch. “Each one exemplifies the qualities of character and the commitment to client service that are the hallmark of our firm’s brand.”
The realm of superlawyers Bert Fields, Bonnie Eskenazi, Schuyler “Sky” Moore and Matt Galsor, Gg’s Hollywood division has had a piece in most of the biggest deals and financing arrangements in town over the decades. The Galsor headed Entertainment Group also directly represents the likes of Tom Cruise,...
- 1/18/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Outgoing president Cathy Schulman to serve in new advisory role.
Producer and former CBS Films president Amy Baer has been elected board president of Women In Film (Wif) starting on June 15 after the organisation’s annual fundraiser the Women In Film Crystal and Lucy Awards Gala.
Wif has also announced new board members and officers: Endeavor partner Esther Chang, attorney Bonnie Eskenazi, ABC Comedy senior vice-president Jamila Hunter, Hulu vice-president and head of corporate communications Guade Paez, and wealth manager Stasia Washington.
Outgoing president Cathy Schulman will remain on the board and assumes a new role as chair of an advisory council.
Producer and former CBS Films president Amy Baer has been elected board president of Women In Film (Wif) starting on June 15 after the organisation’s annual fundraiser the Women In Film Crystal and Lucy Awards Gala.
Wif has also announced new board members and officers: Endeavor partner Esther Chang, attorney Bonnie Eskenazi, ABC Comedy senior vice-president Jamila Hunter, Hulu vice-president and head of corporate communications Guade Paez, and wealth manager Stasia Washington.
Outgoing president Cathy Schulman will remain on the board and assumes a new role as chair of an advisory council.
- 6/5/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Amy Baer has been elected the new Board President of Women in Film with duties, beginning officially on June 15, 2018. That follows the organization’s major annual fundraiser on June 13, namely the Women In Film Crystal and Lucy Awards Gala. Outgoing President Cathy Schulman, who has been at the helm for the past eight years, will remain on the Board as well as take on the new role as Chair of an Advisory Council for the organization, which is currently being populated.
The organization also announced a new slate of Board Members and Officers. They are Wme partner Ester Chang, lawyer Bonnie Eskenazi, ABC Comdy senior VP Jamila Hunter, Hulu VP and Corp. Communications head Guade Paez, and Stasia Washington who has 25 years of experience in finance.
“In the eight years that Cathy Schulman served as Board President, she was responsible for moving the organization deeper into advocacy work and bringing...
The organization also announced a new slate of Board Members and Officers. They are Wme partner Ester Chang, lawyer Bonnie Eskenazi, ABC Comdy senior VP Jamila Hunter, Hulu VP and Corp. Communications head Guade Paez, and Stasia Washington who has 25 years of experience in finance.
“In the eight years that Cathy Schulman served as Board President, she was responsible for moving the organization deeper into advocacy work and bringing...
- 6/5/2018
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Amy Baer has been elected as the board president of Women in Film, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.
Baer will take over for outgoing president Cathy Schulman, who will soon assume the new role as chair of an advisory council for the non-profit organization. Schulman will remain on the board. Baer’s tenure begins on June 15, following the organization’s annual fundraiser on June 13, the Women In Film Crystal and Lucy Awards Gala.
Baer began her career as an assistant at CAA in 1988. From 2007 to 2011, she served as president and Cep of CBS Films, where she produced her first film, “Last Vegas.” Before that, she spent 17 years at Sony Pictures, where she oversaw titles like “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Moneyball.”
Also Read: Study: Male Indie Filmmakers Outnumber Women 2 to 1 at Major Us Film Festivals
“Throughout my eight-year tenure as Board President,...
Baer will take over for outgoing president Cathy Schulman, who will soon assume the new role as chair of an advisory council for the non-profit organization. Schulman will remain on the board. Baer’s tenure begins on June 15, following the organization’s annual fundraiser on June 13, the Women In Film Crystal and Lucy Awards Gala.
Baer began her career as an assistant at CAA in 1988. From 2007 to 2011, she served as president and Cep of CBS Films, where she produced her first film, “Last Vegas.” Before that, she spent 17 years at Sony Pictures, where she oversaw titles like “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Moneyball.”
Also Read: Study: Male Indie Filmmakers Outnumber Women 2 to 1 at Major Us Film Festivals
“Throughout my eight-year tenure as Board President,...
- 6/5/2018
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Amy Baer, who has deep industry experience as a top studio executive and more recently as a producer working with major talent, has been elected board president of Women in Film. She steps into the role at a critical juncture in Hollywood, as the entertainment industry faces a broad reckoning over gender disparities and sexual harassment.
Baer takes over for outgoing president Cathy Schulman, who will remain on the board and assume a new role as chair of an advisory council for the organization. Schulman will preside over the Crystal + Lucy Awards on June 13, and two days later will be succeeded as president by Baer. In a statement, Schulman praised her successor as a “proven industry leader and entrepreneur whose unique experience spans major studios, independent financiers, and producing.” She added, “We are in a tipping-point moment, where sustainable gender equality can be achieved, and I am thrilled to turn...
Baer takes over for outgoing president Cathy Schulman, who will remain on the board and assume a new role as chair of an advisory council for the organization. Schulman will preside over the Crystal + Lucy Awards on June 13, and two days later will be succeeded as president by Baer. In a statement, Schulman praised her successor as a “proven industry leader and entrepreneur whose unique experience spans major studios, independent financiers, and producing.” She added, “We are in a tipping-point moment, where sustainable gender equality can be achieved, and I am thrilled to turn...
- 6/5/2018
- by Ricardo Lopez
- Variety Film + TV
The biggest challenge of bringing dead stars like Bob Marley and Prince to life in holograms may not be technological, but legal . “There are a lot of legal issues involved in bringing back dead celebrities — it’s been very, very complicated,” Bonnie Eskenazi, Entertainment Partner at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger, said Tuesday at TheGrill conference at the Montage Beverly Hills. “Holograms and bringing back dead celebrities to live with us and be present with us is something that’s all over the news,” said Eskenazi, who is currently working on an open case with the Marley estate for a.
- 9/28/2016
- by Matt Donnelly
- The Wrap
In the midst of a grueling fight over whether Warner Bros. and Saul Zaentz Co. have infringed copyright and breached contract by licensing Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit slot machines and video games, the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien will get to keep its lawyers. List The Hollywood Reporter Reveals Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films In June, the defendants brought a motion to disqualify Tolkien's law firm of Greenberg Glusker and attorney Bonnie Eskenazi for allegedly gaining access to privileged information through Alan Benjamin and William Bernstein, two former in-house lawyers for United Artists, said to be
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- 7/22/2014
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Bonnie Eskenazi Of Greenberg Glusker filed the lawsuit this morning accusing Hallmark Hall Of Fame Productions and McGee Street Productions of usurping screenwriter, director, and producer Brad Wigor’s intellectual property rights for a Christmas TV story called The Night Flyer. Sure, a lot of people claim their project was stolen but few attract a pitbull litigator like Eskenazi who, for instance, has repped the estate of Jr Tolkien among other clients against this kind of theft. And Wigor is a four-time Daytime Emmy nominee for Children’s Specials. This project in dispute was a family movie about a troubled teenage boy who lives in Los Angeles and meets an angel, then sprouts angelic wings himself, and after a few false starts ultimately uses his power for good during the Christmas season. Read the entire lawsuit here. “For more than 60 years, defendant Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions has produced...
- 8/15/2012
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: Bonnie Eskenazi Of Greenberg Glusker filed the lawsuit this morning accusing Hallmark Hall Of Fame Productions and McGee Street Productions of usurping screenwriter, director, and producer Brad Wigor’s intellectual property rights for a Christmas TV story called The Night Flyer. Sure, a lot of people claim their project was stolen but few attract a pitbull litigator like Eskenazi who, for instance, has repped the estate of Jr Tolkien among other clients against this kind of theft. And Wigor is a four-time Daytime Emmy nominee for Children’s Specials. This project in dispute was a family movie about a troubled teenage boy who lives in Los Angeles and meets an angel, then sprouts angelic wings himself, and after a few false starts ultimately uses his power for good during the Christmas season. Read the entire lawsuit here. “For more than 60 years, defendant Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions has produced...
- 8/15/2012
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
Good news for all those J.R.R. Tolkien aficionados waiting for a film adaptation of "The Hobbit."
New Line Cinema, the Tolkien estate and publisher Harper Collins have settled the lawsuit over profits from the "Lord of the Rings" films released between 2001 and 2003.
The Tolkien estate had sued New Line for at least $150 million in damages for failing to pay 7.5% of gross receipts from the three films, which netted an estimated $6 billion combined. The estate claimed it hadn't been paid "one penny" from its contractual share and took issue with many of New Line's claimed expenses, including "advertisement" payments made to AOL (also owned by Time Warner) and money for production offices and facilities being used for other New Line films.
At the time, the plaintiffs wanted a court order that would give them the right to terminate any rights New Line might have to other Tolkien works, including "The Hobbit.
New Line Cinema, the Tolkien estate and publisher Harper Collins have settled the lawsuit over profits from the "Lord of the Rings" films released between 2001 and 2003.
The Tolkien estate had sued New Line for at least $150 million in damages for failing to pay 7.5% of gross receipts from the three films, which netted an estimated $6 billion combined. The estate claimed it hadn't been paid "one penny" from its contractual share and took issue with many of New Line's claimed expenses, including "advertisement" payments made to AOL (also owned by Time Warner) and money for production offices and facilities being used for other New Line films.
At the time, the plaintiffs wanted a court order that would give them the right to terminate any rights New Line might have to other Tolkien works, including "The Hobbit.
- 9/8/2009
- by By Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
You’ve probably heard the rumour which I reported on yesterday in which it was said that the casting of Bilbo Baggins for the upcoming Hobbit film would be announced at this year’s Comic Con. Well Empire have been in touch with The Hobbit producer Peter Jackson, who has denied any casting news at this year’s event:
“No, we won’t be announcing Bilbo for a little while,” he said when we asked about a Comic-Con announcement. “We’re starting to think about casting, but we’re knee-deep in the script right now. And when we do go to actors, they’re probably going to ask to see a script, so we’re powering ahead with getting the first draft done.”
So no casting announcements on Bilbo Baggins are to be made yet, but we’re still going to get a movie right? Well, if Christopher Tolkien and...
“No, we won’t be announcing Bilbo for a little while,” he said when we asked about a Comic-Con announcement. “We’re starting to think about casting, but we’re knee-deep in the script right now. And when we do go to actors, they’re probably going to ask to see a script, so we’re powering ahead with getting the first draft done.”
So no casting announcements on Bilbo Baggins are to be made yet, but we’re still going to get a movie right? Well, if Christopher Tolkien and...
- 7/18/2009
- by Craig Sharp
- FilmShaft.com
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