TriStar Pix, Reebok lace up settlement
Plaintiffs' counsel told the court that nearly all issues had been resolved in the $10 million breach of contract lawsuit (Daily Variety, Dec. 24) that Reebok filed against TriStar after the makers of the pic excised a scene of a fake Reebok commercial, which allegedly had been contractually required.
"We got a good settlement. We're very happy," said attorney Pierce O'Donnell, whose O'Donnell, Reeves & Shaeffer represented Reebok. He declined to divulge any terms of the deal.
A Reebok spokesman countered that a deal had not been finalized. TriStar counsel Lou Meisinger declined to comment.
The case, which was set to begin trial Tuesday in U.S. District Court, provided a glimpse into product placement, in which studios are paid by manufacturers to include brand name products or signage in scenes.
Reebok contended it had an agreement in principle with TriStar --- a claim that was backed by an unsigned second draft six-page deal memo --- to provide $1.5 million worth of shoes, cash and clothing, as well as football training for the actors.
In exchange, Reebok claimed, TriStar agreed to show over the final credits a phony commercial for the athletic shoes featuring the character Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding Jr., who picked up a best supporting actor Academy Award in March for his role as the football star).
That scene got edited out however, leaving only one mention of Reebok, when Tidwell utters an expletive at the company and complains, "All they do is ignore me. Always have."
Attorneys for TriStar initially attempted to get the 13-count, colorfully worded, 31-page complaint dismissed by asserting there never was an agreed-upon contract. The court did rule to drop some of the counts, but let the significant ones stand.
