Czech suit's latest bounce
Art Oko claims $20 mil. in lost sales
The dispute dates back to 1989, before the demise of communism in then-Czechoslovakia, when Art Oko co-financed a miniseries in exchange for rights excluding Communist bloc countries.
Dirka said the station failed to deliver a salable product and agreed to re-edit. In the upheaval of changing systems and management, CTV said, the materials were lost. However, a version called "The Last Pierrot" later aired on Czech TV.
Art Oko invested more than x1.2 million ($1 million) in the project and estimates $20 million losses in potential sales; suit also claims that to remake the program now would cost between $15 million and $20 million. CTV claims it owes Art Oko just $200,000 to cover the cost of the film stock.
CTV general manager Jiri Balvin rejected an offer to settle for $1.5 million in 1992, when he was head of domestic production. Balvin and Dirka met Oct. 8 in Prague, but were unable to reach an agreement.
According to Dirka, an independent expert will estimate the film's value by next week. "We will leave it to the court to determine the real value," Balvin said in a statement.
Complicating the dispute is CTV's claim that Art Oko owes it money for later co-prods. CTV would like the two debts to cancel each other out.
