Rowling Conjures Up Court Appearance
J.K. Rowling's hoping a little legal hocus-pocus will make an unauthorized Harry Potter book disappear.
The megaselling author took center stage in a Manhattan federal court Monday and testified that the planned reference guide, The Harry Potter Lexicon, "constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work."
Rowling, 42, and Warner Bros. Entertainment filed suit last October against Steven Vander Ark, owner of the Harry Potter Lexicon website and Michigan-based RDR Books. The complaint accused the defendants of copyright infringement and claimed the publication of an encyclopedia without permission violated Rowling's intellectual property rights and undermined her ability to issue her own definitive guide to the fantasy world she created.
"Words she slaved over…now appear in a book under the name of somebody else," Rowling's attorney, Dale Cendali, told judge Robert P. Patterson in opening remarks.
For her part, Rowling said the battle over Lexicon has "decimated my creative work over the last month" to the point where she's been forced to set aside her latest novel.
"I really don't want to cry," she said, when quizzed about how she felt about the publication of the guide.
Cendali said RDR's enterprise was a thinly veiled attempt to cash in on the phenomenally successful Potter books, which have sold more than 400 million copies and spawned five feature films that have grossed more than $4.5 billion.
Defense attorney Anthony Falzone, however, cited fair-use doctrine, which he believed gave RDR and the website's editor more than enough leeway "to organize and discuss the complicated and very elaborate world of Harry Potter."
That sentiment was echoed by cocounsel David Saul Hammer, who told the judge on Friday that while the publisher does not plan to contest Rowling's infringement claims that a sizeable chunk of her work was used without authorization, RDR's book shed scholarly light on the subject of Potter and was therefore protected.
Vander Ark, 50, has argued that he is within his right to put out the reference guide, retailing for $24.95 a pop, because it's culled from supplemental material generated by his Harry Potter Lexicon website, which Rowling has acknowledged being a fan of.
However, Rowling has likened the move to a plot by You-Know-Who.
She claims the site merely recycles copyrighted material she developed on her own, including listing characters, magical creatures, potions, spells and other Potter tidbits. At the same time, she argues, Vander Ark's tome leaves out original commentary and fan-based debates that she believed made the site so unique and helped enhance the experience.
Publishing such a companion guide for profit could seriously harm the revenue stream of professional writers and ultimately do a disservice to devotees of their work, she asserts.
"If RDR's position is accepted, it will undoubtedly have a significant, negative impact on the freedoms enjoyed by genuine fans on the Internet," Rowling says in court documents. "Authors everywhere will be forced to protect their creations much more rigorously, which could mean denying well-meaning fans permission to pursue legitimate creative activities."
As it stands, Rowling is not asking for damages or seeking to shut down the website, but just aims to block the guide's release.
The nonjury trial is expected to continue through the week.
It'll be up to the judge to determine whether RDR's book is a legitimate fair-use claim or constitutes what Rowling's camp says is a ripoff for monetary gain.
Dana Delany back on Wisteria Lane next season
We learned yesterday that ABC’s Desperate Housewives will be back for season five next fall, in its same time-slot of Sunday at 9 p.m. I’m sure creator Marc Cherry has stocked up on Tums in the past few years, as the series waffled between must-see and mediocrity. Right now, it’s somewhere in the middle, although I’ve made a point to watch every week, so that says something right there.
ET Online is breaking news tonight that Dana Delany will be returning to the series in the fall. Although no storyline has been as compelling as the murder intrigue that super-charged season one, the mystery surrounding Delany’s Katherine Mayfair this season has been mildly interesting.
We know it has something to do with her daughter, Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca) and ex-husband, Wayne (Gary Cole), who struck up a relationship with Dylan in recent weeks. I must admit, I’m curious enough to make sure the DVR records when the season finale rolls around.
Delany told ET Online today that although her mystery will be solved in the finale (and in Sunday’s episode, Katherine mentioned selling the house and moving away), her character will indeed be back next season. I’ve been a big fan of Delany’s since she played Nurse Colleen McMurphy on China Beach in the 1990s. She’s starred in numerous movies over the years and currently has four feature films in the works.
In recent years, she’s also voiced the part of Lois Lane in the animated Justice League and Batman series. Let’s face it, once you’ve been Lois Lane, everything else is just secondary.
This is also a good place to mention a six degrees thing between Delany and Housewives co-star Teri Hatcher, who played the part of Lois Lane in the 1990s TV series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Hmmm…any other Superman connections among the Housewives?
Spike gets its own comedy series
Spike TV has ordered six episodes of Factory, a largely improvised comedy revolving around four small-town factory workers who’d rather do anything than work at their boring jobs, according to a Hollywood Reporter story. It will be the Guy Network’s first original comedy series.
Set to premiere on June 29 at 10 p.m., Factory is directed, produced by, and stars Mitch Rouse (pictured), co-creator of Strangers With Candy, the short-lived TV series that ran from 1999-2000, as well as the 2005 prequel feature film by the same name.
Rouse has an interesting list of credits. In addition to numerous feature films, he played Dr. Ryan Gibson on According to Jim (come on, there must be someone out there who watches this show), Fireman #1 on Reno 911, and was a regular on Exit 57, a mid-1990s comedy-sketch show.
Also in the Factory’s ensemble cast are Michael Coleman, Jay Leggett, and David Pasquesi. “Factory is a unique improvised comedy that captures the everyday lives of four regular guys,” said Bill McGoldrick, VP of original programming at Spike. “The humor speaks directly to our viewers, and Mitch’s sensibility is a perfect match for our brand.”
Is anyone else visualizing these guys hitting the stage au natural and magically twirling their hats? No? Ok, just me and my gutter brain then. Hey, it could happen.
Jonny Lee Miller: In the Limelight
When I first saw the commercials for ABC’s Eli Stone, I didn’t recognize Jonny Lee Miller. Then, after watching the first episode and liking him, I decided to find out who he was. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I had seen him, multiple times, in a variety of roles. And he was British! I was duly impressed and intrigued. Jonny Lee Miller was a helluva an actor, a chameleon who could be as convincing as a junkie named Sick Boy in Trainspotting as he was a San Francisco lawyer named Eli.
Jonny Lee Miller, who’s real name is Jonathan (without the H if you want to precise). In an Empire magazine feature, he explained, “My name’s actually Jonathan, but there’s already a Dr. Jonathan Miller, and Jonathan Lee Miller was too close, so I decided to go for a country and western feel. Then I can do what Laurence Fishburne did and change it back.” (You know, from Larry to Laurence).
Anyway, JLM was born November 15, 1972, in Surrey, England to a theatrical family. His father is a stage actor and his grandfather is Bernard Lee. If that name sounds familiar, you’re probably a James Bond fan. Bernard Lee was the original M, 007’s boss. He insulted Sean Connery and Roger Moore until 1979.
As a kid, Jonny would tag along with his father to the television studio at Television Centre, watching shows like Top of the Pops being filmed. He got the acting bug and quit school at 17. He was working on UK TV right away, doing many episodic shows and eventually landing a part on EastEnders (as Jonathan Hewitt). He even did a Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren, but it was the one-two punch of the feature films Hackers (1995) and Trainspotting (1996) that really changed his career — and his life.
While making Hackers, Jonny met his co-star, actress Angelina Jolie, and they hit it off immediately. They fell in love and were married in March 1996. Their relationship was complex, and they separated a year later, before divorcing in 1999. Jonny has said of his marriage to Angelina, “For a while, it was very intense relationship, very passionate, and you can never regret being involved in something like that. It was sad that it ended, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Well, except maybe my haircut.”
Angelina told BMagazine, “Divorcing Jonny was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, but I don’t dwell on it,” she admits. “I was so lucky to have met the most amazing man, who I wanted to marry. It comes down to timing. I think he’s the greatest husband a girl could ask for. I’ll always love him, we were simply too young.”
Professionally, Jonny had a big success with Trainspotting. He was teamed with Ewan McGregor (who suggested him for the part), Robert Carlyle and Ewen Bremner, all under the direction of Danny Boyle. The picture was a breakout hit, and as a druggie named Sick Boy who spouts James Bond trivia, Jonny made a strong impression. His thick Scottish accent was so authentic that some critics thought he must be from Scotland.
Trainspotting wasn’t the last connection between Jonny Lee Miller and James Bond. Before Daniel Craig was cast in Casino Royale, Jonny was among a few actors considered for Bond. Would he have been a good 007? Perhaps, he certainly would have brought his own unique spin to the role, as he did other parts like Woodrow F. Call in the US miniseries, Dead Man’s Walk, the prequel to Lonesome Dove, and as the inventive, real life cyclist Graeme Obree in The Flying Scotsman.
Before taking on Eli Stone, Jonny co-starred with Ray Liotta in the CBS crime/heist drama Smith. That high profile series, by ER/West Wing writer John Wells, was a colossal bomb and nearly turned Miller off to doing a series. He reconsidered after reading the script for Eli Stone. “I just thought this part was too good, and it would have been a ridiculous opportunity not to try to follow up on,” he said in a Los Angeles Times interview. What does he think of his new character? “He’s quite selfish, [but] it’s about him trying to be a better person. I like that aspect of it. I like the fact that he’s not such a great guy, in my opinion. And the strange things that start happening to him give the story a lot of scope.”
No word yet on if ABC will pick up Eli Stone for next season, but I hope they do. It’ll be interesting to see what Jonny Lee Miller has in store for this very imperfect, and yet compelling, character.