News
Ex-Laker Wife, Angela Wilder Suing The Talk Claiming She Pitched A Talker On Motherhood!
Courtesy/CBS
Here we go again! There is always someone in Hollywood who comes out of the woodwork and claims that a television series, a recording, or major motion picture that has made it to the big-time was not the original idea or concept of those who found fame and fortune with the final product. Sometimes, they are found to be completely false allegations and sometimes they could be true. And now CBS’ hit afternoon series, The Talk is unfortunately under some fire from none other than former Los Angeles Laker hall-of-famer James Worthy’s, ex-wife!
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Angelia Wilder (Ex-wife of Worthy) is claiming in a new lawsuit that CBS’ The Talk was stolen from her idea about a show revolving around a community of women, including celebrities, who talk about the common bond of motherhood.
Apparently she claims in 2006, she created a treatment called “The Mothers’ Hood,” which she registered with the WGA. The idea was to create a TV show for mothers to watch and feel like someone was listening to their day-to-day problems and issues. Wilder says that she used her industry contacts in 2008 to set up a pitch meeting with Holly Jacobs, executive VP reality and syndication programming at Sony Television. Jacobs rejected her pitch, purportedly telling her that “stay-at-home mothers are a depressed group of people who would have absolutely no interest in watching a show about their own depressing lives,” according to the suit.
Then The Talk came out. The show is produced by CBS Television Studios and RelativityReal and features Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler discussing the day’s headlines, often from a parent’s perspective. The concept has been credited to Gilbert, but Wilder says it can be traced back to her idea she pitched to Sony. So Wilder has filed a lawsuit in California federal court, and in doing so, she demonstrates why it’s not so easy to win on a stolen-idea claim. Ten years ago, a plaintiff like Wilder might have asserted copyright infringement directly against the producers of the allegedly ripped-off show. But plaintiffs are beginning to learn that copyright only protects substantially similar expression, and judges tend to impose a high bar and toss such claims at an early stage.
Nowadays, sophisticated plaintiffs are more likely to allege a “breach of implied contract” claim on the theory that when an idea is shared, there’s an expectation that payment will be rendered if the idea is used later. It’s not always a winnable claim, but at least the plaintiff has a shot. But if Wilder pitched to Sony and then CBS made the show, what hope does she have in pursuing a lawsuit over any implied contract she had? That’s the question that will be central to her new suit.
The complaint refers to Jacobs’ “very close ties” to RelativityReal head Tom Forman and CBS. The lawsuit also talks about Sony’s global distribution deal with RelativityReal and alleges that “CBS had direct and easy access to Wilder’s treatment and her confidential intellectual property while they were in the development stage of The Talk.”
Wilder now is suing Sony for breaching the implied deal she had by allegedly “assisting others in producing and distributing The Talk” without compensating her. She also alleges Sony breached a duty of confidence by violating an allegedly standard practice in Hollywood of accepting pitches and treatments for TV shows with strict confidentiality.
Wilder also is suing CBS and RelativityReal for tortious interference, unfair competition and civil conspiracy. The defendants, she says, “intended to induce Sony to breach its contract by taking Wilder’s confidential and original work and exploiting it for their own gains when they produced and distributed The Talk.”
CBS’ statement on the whole incident: “It’s one thing to get sued over a project that was pitched to us but quite a stretch to be sued over a pitch that was made to somebody else. Ms. Wilder’s alleged offering to Sony played absolutely no part in the creation of The Talk. We’ll vigorously defend this case and expect to prevail.”
So what do you think of Wilder’s claim? It would seem thatThe Talk should be safe from this one! This appears to be quite a stretch from the former Basketball wife!
News
One Life to Live Alum Jonathan Groff Receives 2024 Tony Award Nomination for Leading Actor in a Musical
Nominations were announced on Tuesday for the 77th annual Tony Awards by previous winners, Renée Elise Goldsberry (ex-Evangeline Williamson, One Life to Live) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
When the dust settled it was Stereophonic (which is loosely based on the story of Fleetwood Mac) and Hell’s Kitchen (Alicia Keys musical) that both scored 13 Tony nominations to lead the pack.
However, Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along made quite the comeback and is nominated for several awards including Best Revival of a Musical and for one of its stars, Jonathan Groff (ex-Henry Mackler, One Life to Live).
Courtesy/Playbill
Groff is nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and will go up against Brody Grant — The Outsiders, Dorian Harewood —The Notebook, Brian d’Arcy James — Days of Wine and Roses and Eddie Redmayne — Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.
In addition to his previous Tony nod for his role in Hamilton, Jonathan was nominated for a Lead Actor in a Musical for his role as Melchior Gabor in the original production of Spring Awakening.
Jonathan co-stars in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe and previous Tony winner Lindsay Mendez.
Back in 2019, Groff visited Live with Kelly and Ryan and discussed his debut on One Life while working at night on Broadway in Spring Awakening.
He shared on his experience on the soap, “I do remember my first day because I was doing Spring Awakening on Broadway at the time, and One Life to Live was my first time ever being on TV. So I got this offer, and I was like, ‘Yes, I would love to be in a soap opera,’ and we finished Spring Awakening at 11:00 p.m. and I woke up the next morning at 4:0 a.m. to walk uptown to go to do One Life to Live, and I called my agent and left a message, and I said ‘You have to get me out of this, I can’t wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning!'” You can watch the clip below.
The 77th annual Tony Awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, June 16, with Tony and Oscar winner Ariana DeBose returning to host for the third time.
So, rooting for Jonathan to take home his long-awaited Tony Award after several decades in the theater? Do you remember him as part of teen scene on OLTL? Comment below.
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Days Of Our Lives
Peacock Raising Subscription Prices $2 Dollars a Month This Summer; Includes Days of our Lives
As the Paris Summer Olympics are a few months away, the Peacock streaming service has revealed its plan for a two dollar summer price hike on its subscription plans, beginning in July for its content which will include Days of our Lives.
According to Deadline, in July, look for the monthly price for Peacock Premium to increase to $7.99. Premium Plus, which offers limited advertising, download capability and live local programming, will now be $13.99, while Annual plans will go up to $79.99 for Premium and $139.99 for Premium Plus.
This price hike will effect new customers starting on July 18th, while existing subscribers will notice the price change on their next billing date on or before August 17th.
Photo: JPI
This marks the second price change in two years for the streaming service, the previous one being in 2023, which was the first since the service launched back in 2020. The Summer Olympics in Paris which will be on NBC and Peacock run from July 26 to August 11.
The bright spot for Days of our Lives fans, is that unlike if the show was still on network television and NBC, the show would be preempted for two weeks, but with it being on Peacock it will continue with all-new episodes without interruption.
Photo: Peacock
At the recent Days of our Lives 15K episode celebration, Michael Sluchan the EVP, Current Scripted Programming & Limited Series for NBC/Peacock shared that the soap opera is doing extremely well for the streaming service, and they were very happy with its performance.
If you want to join Peacock now, there is still some time to get in on the current rates to watch DAYS and all of the programming and series it offers.
So, what do you think about the Peacock streaming service next price hike? Comment below.
Breaking News
Haley Pullos Receives 90-Day Jail Sentence Following DUI Charge And Wrong-Way Car Crash
Former General Hospital actress, Haley Pullos (ex-Molly Lansing-Davis) is going to be doing time in jail, exactly one-year after her arrest from a hit and run wrong-way car collision.
The crash resulted in bodily harm and damages to the other driver, and now Pullos who pleaded “no contest” to the charges and will serve 90 days in jail. She was taken in custody on Monday, April 29th, after the ruling.
According to Haley’s attorney, Mark Daniel Melnick, the 25-year-old actress struck a plea deal and after her three months in jail will be sentenced on July 29th. As part of that sentencing, she must serve five years probation, 200 hours of community service and pay $8,260 in restitution to Courteney Wilder, the other driver in the crash and her driver’s license is revoked for a year.
Courtesy/ABC
According to TMZ, the plea deal for Pullos has the “no contest” to one DUI, while the judge dropped the felony DUI causing bodily injury and misdemeanor hit and run charges.
Melnick said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Haley is very grateful to the court for a minimum sentence and for recognizing her remorse and the strides she has made in her sobriety.”
Pullos had played the daughter of Alexis Davis (played by Nancy Lee Grahn) on the ABC soap opera since 2009, but after her car crash and DUI she was replaced by three different actresses until the show finally settled on the current Molly, Kristen Vaganos.
Photo: Pasadena PD
Back in April 29 of 2023, and at the scene of the crash, the police found edibles and mini-bottles of tequila in Pullos’ vehicle and that she was intoxicated. As it turned out, this was to be the second hit and run in the evening for Pullos who had an earlier collision with another car.
The courts decision follows a year-long legal battle with Haley’s pleas changing throughout it, ranging from “not guilty” to “no contest”. She sought treatment for her drinking at a rehab following the crash.
Nancy Lee Grahn, who portrayed Pullos’ on-screen mom took to X on Monday night, April 29th and shared on the sentence and the specific jail, Haley will be serving time: “As Haley’s TV mom I can tell some truths about her as I’ve loved her since she was little girl. She made a HUGE mistake, knows it, owns it & has spent the last yr doing EVERYTHING imaginable to take responsibility 4 it. It’s not that I oppose jail. It’s that I oppose this jail.” The jail in question by Grahn is the L.A. county jail.
So, what do you think about Haley Pullos serving a 90-days jail sentence, and the other rulings that will be part of her sentencing? Comment below.
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So…They canned WORLD TURNS for nothing?
No Comment………………..
No comment on this issue..I NEVER WATCH THE TALK!!!! This has no interest for me……….
We don’t know the situation-we’ll just have to see what happens
This could be specious, or this could be the catalyst to get this junk off our screens-and get Oakdale back where it belongs
I have watched the show and I never once had the impression the show was about motherhood or talking about things that are important to mothers. If anything I always thought this show was a View wanna-be/clone. The talk-show format is so generic they are all the same in some regard. I hope this case is thrown out of court, but unfortunately this woman is getting her 15 minutes of fame by filing it. So sad.
I worked copyright at Sony Pictures some years back. All I can say is that they are fierce at keeping their intellectual property rights (those rights they have paid others for).
Being a stay-at-home mom to two, I really take offense to the alleged words from Mr. Jacobs at Sony. Stay-at-home mothers are anything but depressed. What a terrible thing to say. At least when I worked at Sony they were extremely family friendly in my department.
As for Ms. Wilder and any others that pitch ideas to studios, they should have lawyers or something to back their claims and protect their interests because the studios are notorious for taking other ideas. That being said, I really do not see what basis she has for THIS claim considering it is not Sony who allegedly stole her idea.
Furthermore, I have yet to see how THE TALK is a show about “motherhood.” Now granted I do not watch it, but the promos never mention anything about motherhood – it is all celebrities, how to lose weight, latest gossip, etc.
I believe the show is Ms. Gilbert’s idea because I do not see otherwise how she would be considered for a panelist job on TV. I have no problems with her, but with her minimal television work and persona, she wouldn’t exactly be the first person I would think of, no offense.
Moreover, I really hate how our country has become so litigious.
Win she gets money or by settlement she will get money .
Seems like it will a win win situation ..
Eh! This woman’s lawsuit won’t get past the front door of the court house.
We just live in a litigious, selfish, self entitled nation infested with people on the take for what they can get for nothing. Doesn’t this individual already have enough for being married to a professional athlete? A show like The Mindless Chatter isn’t so creative or such an original idea that it warrants a lawsuit. The real lawsuit should be against whoever thought it was a good idea to cancel an iconic show like AS THE WORLD TURNS for this crap.
It is called 15 minutes of fame.