Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz join executive producer Kathy Reichs in following a similar lawsuit filed Wednesday from producer Barry Josephson on the long-running procedural.
The litigation over Bones profits is getting some star power.
Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, stars of the longest-running drama series in Fox history, along with author and executive producer Kathy Reichs, have filed their own lawsuit claiming they have been shortchanged "tens of millions of dollars" in profits by producer 20th Century Fox Television, the Fox network and affiliated companies. The trio's lawsuit follows a similar suit filed Wednesday by Barry Josephson, one of the show’s executive producers, who also cried foul over Fox’s accounting for the series.
In the new complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the trio claim Fox has underpaid them through accounting tricks and “vertical integration,” in which a company’s production division licenses a show at an artificially discounted rate to the company’s affiliated distribution channel. They also claim Fox fraudulently accounted for revenue, employed strong-arm tactics to lower license fees to the point that the series never showed a profit, and withheld key documents that would help them better ascertain the extent to which they are owed money.
The complaint notes Fox's "leading role in the well-documented history of Hollywood accounting scandals," referencing past lawsuits over M*A*S*H*, The X-Files, NYPD Blue and Cops. A Fox spokesperson declined to comment on the new suit.
The Bones stars say they have uncovered "more than a dozen accounting errors, tricks, and deceitful acts that 20th TV has used to deprive plaintiffs of their entitlement to profits," the suit alleges. Just a few of those:
►Sweetheart deals between 20th TV and Fox and affiliated foreign networks, as well as its syndication deals with Fox's television stations
►Self-dealing in licenses to Hulu and Netflix
►Improper allocations of "package fees"
►Improperly charging costs for a spinoff pilot, distribution fees, overhead and other corporate charges, foreign taxes and rebates from media buys, product placement and integration revenue
The litigation over Bones profits is getting some star power.
Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, stars of the longest-running drama series in Fox history, along with author and executive producer Kathy Reichs, have filed their own lawsuit claiming they have been shortchanged "tens of millions of dollars" in profits by producer 20th Century Fox Television, the Fox network and affiliated companies. The trio's lawsuit follows a similar suit filed Wednesday by Barry Josephson, one of the show’s executive producers, who also cried foul over Fox’s accounting for the series.
In the new complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the trio claim Fox has underpaid them through accounting tricks and “vertical integration,” in which a company’s production division licenses a show at an artificially discounted rate to the company’s affiliated distribution channel. They also claim Fox fraudulently accounted for revenue, employed strong-arm tactics to lower license fees to the point that the series never showed a profit, and withheld key documents that would help them better ascertain the extent to which they are owed money.
The complaint notes Fox's "leading role in the well-documented history of Hollywood accounting scandals," referencing past lawsuits over M*A*S*H*, The X-Files, NYPD Blue and Cops. A Fox spokesperson declined to comment on the new suit.
The Bones stars say they have uncovered "more than a dozen accounting errors, tricks, and deceitful acts that 20th TV has used to deprive plaintiffs of their entitlement to profits," the suit alleges. Just a few of those:
►Sweetheart deals between 20th TV and Fox and affiliated foreign networks, as well as its syndication deals with Fox's television stations
►Self-dealing in licenses to Hulu and Netflix
►Improper allocations of "package fees"
►Improperly charging costs for a spinoff pilot, distribution fees, overhead and other corporate charges, foreign taxes and rebates from media buys, product placement and integration revenue
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