Supreme Court upholds copyright law

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Congress' ability to extent copyright protection to works by foreign artists and authors that were previously in the public domain. The high court ruled 6 to 2, with Justice Elena Kagan recusing herself. "Nothing in the historical record, congressional practice or our own jurisprudence warrants exceptional First Amendment solicitude for copyrighted works that were once in the public domain," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the majority opinion. Orchestra conductors, educators and homevid distributors challenged the constitutionality of a 1994 act of Congress that restored the copyrights, bringing it in line with earlier trade agreements. Perhaps millions of works were covered, and they had argued that the "entry of a work into the public domain must mark the end of protection, not an intermission." According to the U.S. Copyright Office, after the law was passed, notices were filed to restore copyrights on almost 50,000 works, including such Alfred Hitchcock titles as "The 39 Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes," Carol Reed classic "The Third Man" and a host of musical works and Mexican and Latin American films. The content industry generally favored the restoration of copyrights. The MPAA filed an amicus brief in which it said that U.S. copyright holders could face "retaliatory measures" if the law was overturned, and the U.S. therefore did not honor the 1994 treaty and the Berne Convention, the international agreement in which countries recognize the copyright of works from other signatory countries. "In aligning the United States with other nations bound by the Berne Convention, and thereby according equitable treatment to once disfavored foreign authors, Congress can hardly be charged with a design to move stealthily toward a regime of perpetual copyrights," Ginsburg wrote. Contact Ted Johnson at ted.johnson@variety.com

Shed Media promotes five

ShanfieldSurovellSmithShed Media has upped Ted Smith, former exec producer at Mark Burnett Productions, to v.p. of development, along with four other promotions at the "Real Housewives of NY City" shingle.Jessica Surovell, who has been at the company since 2008, is now director of development, up from manager; Matt Shanfield, also a Mark Burnett alum, has been promoted to director of development as well.Arial Brozell and Emily Moffet are moving up the ladder to manager of development and associate producer, respectively. The pair have been with Shed since 2009 as development assistants. Smith has been at the company since 2010. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

A beak in to the future

Episode 100 of 'Robot Chicken''Robot Chicken' versions of Matthew Senreich and Seth GreenGreenSenreichFew shows are as suitable for a contemporary attention span as "Robot Chicken." Its sketches -- frequently but a couple of seconds lengthy -- are perfect online viewing and tap into the fanboy mind that enshrines "The Exorcist" as gospel and brought comicbook superheroes hand strikes office glory earlier this decade.But may be the show's rapid, ADD-style format an item from the culture's dwindling attention span or perhaps a leading cause of it?"It's both, and that is really something which we have a problem with,Inch states Seth Eco-friendly, co-creator, executive producer, author, director and voice actor for "Robot Chicken."Everything has been on your journey to shorter bursts of content for any very long time, Eco-friendly states, stating as precedent MTV's the nineteen nineties series "Liquid Television," short-film festivals or even a Comedy Central clip show known as "Short Attention Span Theater." With more youthful audiences progressively embracing cell phones for those their content, it will not change in the near future.InchWe simply like telling jokes, and that we like letting them know quick," he states. "We do not like putting things off."Adds co-creator, executive producer, author and director Matthew Senreich: "I would like to state that I'd the experience to understand the web might have skyrocketed the actual way it did and short-form content could be so readily available, so our show suits that perfectly."We simply understood we desired to keep sketches short so much that someone wasn't moving their eyes saying, 'I can't believe this sketch continues to be happening.A?InchGrownup Go swimming professional veep Keith Crofford states he thinks the rapid-fire format is really a product from the short-attention span culture and stacks when in support of the show finding a crowd.InchYou are churning through material so quick that you are certain to find a few things that you simply love even when there is a couple stuff that you hate," he states.Mind author and professional producer Doug Goldstein states the show needed to wait for a proper time to locate its audience. "I believe we have always aspired to be considered a short-attention-span society, it is simply media needed to get caught up and provide us what we should wanted," he states.But there is never an effort to create "Robot Chicken" fit such large-picture ideas."We'd items to say and items to poker fun at, however they were not stuff that really needed a very long time to discuss it," Goldstein states. "We desired to discuss how, 'Hey, would not it be funny if your Transformer got cancer of the prostate?A That isn't exactly a tale that can take twenty minutes to inform.InchNevertheless, that's a tale that creates YouTube, which released within times of the premiere of "Robot Chicken" and performed a substantial role in building its audience. The show may be the top-ranked original program on Adult Go swimming, in addition to a hit on DVD using more than 1.3 million models offered.The show's true impact goes beyond the amounts. Eco-friendly, Senreich and crew are as common as any actor or director at Comic-Disadvantage, and "Robot Chicken" has changed into a the comedy voice from the fanboy generation."Many of us becoming an adult felt just a little alienated, like misfits -- super-separated through the things we loved," states Eco-friendly. "And as you become a bit older, it becomes clear that everybody becoming an adult feels this way, and that we had exactly the same type of knowledge about this show. We simply felt these items was your own musings, our private, super-nerdy ideas, but, with time, that's grown tremendously."That can help explain why the show's fanboy-focused spontaneity has associated with so large a crowd and charmed George Lucas into lending his voice to some sketch and granting "Robot Chicken" rare permission to create three "The Exorcist"-designed special offers. An identical special centered on the heroes of Electricity Comics is next around the "Robot Chicken" docket.Striking the 100-episode marker without signs and symptoms of slowing down lower has transformed the perspective how lengthy the show may go on mining popular culture for comedy sketches."We are really attempting to evolve it, to not become different things than, but to become come a much better, more recognized version of what it's," states Eco-friendly."Whenever we began the show, all of us likely to be completed in a few years," adds Senreich. "However the more we all do it and also the more response we obtain, the greater we understand we are a sketch comedy show -- and that we lasts as lengthy as we are funny."'Robot Chicken' 100th EpisodeA beak in to the future Team reps rapid rise of nerd processors Fandom fodder for film-flam Initial production hurdles were absolutely nothing to cluck at Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Ron Burkle acquires Relativity stake

BurkleSupermarket billionaire Ron Burkle has become the second-largest shareholder in Relativity Media, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.Burkle has agreed to buy out the majority of Elliott Management's stake in the company, as reported by Bloomberg News. But Elliott isn't totally out of the picture, according to a knowledgeable source, and some of the Burkle money will help fund Relativity's operations.Burkle's investment, while undisclosed, is said to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.Reps for Relativity and Elliott Management declined comment. A rep for Burkle could not immediately be reached for comment.Relativity has been in discussions to raise new coin for months. Last summer, Relativity began discussions with JP Morgan Chase & Co. to help raising funds to buy out Elliott's share, but those talks stalled.Burkle already has ties to Relativity, having made a sizable loan to the company in November. Burkle, who made much of his money in the supermarket business, has made forays into Hollywood before. He backed Harvey and Bob Weinstein during their bid to buy Miramax from Disney in 2010. The indie shingle eventually went to a consortium of investors led by construction magnate Ron Tutor and Colony Capital.Elliott has backed Relativity-arranged financing deals both Sony and Universal. Friction mounted between Relativity and U, however, when the two began competitively dating similar "Snow White" projects. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com