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Clause & Effect
Net-Profit Rights/Movies Based on TV Shows. The Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division 7, decided that an agreement actors Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood entered into with Spelling-Goldberg Productions (SGP) for the parties to submit an idea to the ABC-TV network for what became the 1970s TV series, 'Charlie's Angels,' didn't entitle Wagner and his family trusts to 50% of the net profits from two movies based on the series. Wagner v. Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., B184523.
Wagner and Wood had entered into an agreement with SGP to star in the TV movie Love Song. The agreement also stated that the actors and SGP would 'jointly submit up to five ideas to ABC for the basis of a pilot script for the 1974-1975 television season.' After ABC accepted the 'Angels' series idea the parties had submitted, the Wagners and SGP entered into a separate agreement to equally split any net profits received by SGP.
Columbia Pictures subsequently obtained film rights to the series from the heirs of series writers Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, who had retained the motion-picture rights under the 1970 Writers Guild of America Minimum Basic Agreement. When Wagner filed a breach-of-contract suit for 50% of the net profits from the 2000 and 2003 movies based on the 'Charlie's Angels' series, the L.A. Superior Court granted summary judgment for Columbia Pictures.
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