Fine Print Frames Dick Clark-HFPA Dispute

In 1993, The Player was a Golden Globe winner for Best Feature, Musical or Comedy. In 2001, one of the HFPA awards show honors went to Gene Hackman for his portrayal of Royal Tenenbaum.

Now, courtesy of Alex Ben Block in this week’s Hollywood Reporter magazine, we have a detailed breakdown of the royal Tinseltown ruckus at the center of an ongoing legal dispute between Dick Clark Productions (DCP) and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association over rights to the organization’s lucrative annual awards show. DCP claims that contracts from those two above-mentioned years are key:

DCP says the contract language, which grants it rights to produce the Globes “for any extensions, renewals, substitutions or modifications of the NBC agreement,” means it can work on the telecast as long as it remains on NBC. The company argues that it single-handedly built the Globes into the international showbiz event it has become, more than justifying its perpetual rights.

The courtroom drama set to begin September 6 in LA’s U.S. District Court could easily outshine The Lincoln Lawyer, a de facto nominee for the next Golden Globes. In the meantime, be sure to read Block’s excellent article for many more juicy details.

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