As Deadline reports, Polone’s former production company with Judy Hofflund filed Friday for breach of contract, arguing that Warner Bros “refuses to compensate plaintiff in any way for the Subsequent Episodes of Gilmore Girls” because “the Subsequent Episodes do not fall under the terms of the Operative Agreement, making the absurd claim that the Subsequent Episodes are derivative works based on the television series Gilmore Girls.” The suit continues:
Defendant also appears to erroneously believe the Subsequent Episodes are not considered a “television series” because they are being produced for Netflix, rather than a traditional broadcast network.
It then points out that Netflix competes for television prizes like any other network, and also describes itself as “the world’s leading Internet television network.”
Polone is asking for at least $195,000, to be decided by a jury trial, an amount based on the typical $32,500 he earned per episode when the original series was airing, but increased proportionately to the length of the new episodes. Interestingly, the suit says he is being denied payment due to the “personal animus of [Warner Bros] chief executive Peter Roth”; WBTV would not comment.
Image via The CW
