Deep End

Okay, so there's a new show out about being a first-year associate called the Deep End. I watched the first half of the first episode before I completely tuned it out assuming it would quickly be canceled. Amazingly, that is not the case. Why would people ever think your first-year in a corporate law firm would make interesting television? I don't know, but people seem to think crab-fishing makes a good show. My first-year has been filled with lots of lessons about how to be a lawyer, no inhouse hookups, and a steady diet of staring at my computer screen until ten at night. I have no idea how to make my current life into a tv show anyone would watch.

Power Dynamics

In every situation there are basic premises. Humans communicate through spoken and body language which we all understand. This understanding is culturally conditioned in us all. In different ways, certainly, and with different means. There are certain things we do in order to achieve the most out of those things we understand. Teamwork is the epitome of that understanding between individuals.
The University of Arizona basketball team, has embodied this better than any other college basketball team once, 1997. I want and pray that glorious year reemerges soon.
This year's team has shown promise towards that understanding, and has a great pool of talent. Saturday's game against Stanford, showed determination, but the guys check out of the intense determination they showed at the end of the game for periods throughout the game. This is UA's biggest problem right now. Each rotation struggles with its defensive adjustments, as new players are shuffled in, and our lineup does not adjust without rethinking the team understanding. This is exemplified in our substitutions of Jordan Hill (or foulouts). Against Stanford, we didn't adjust our defense on the low post by doubling Brook Lopez until the last defensive play of the game. Granted UA got hosed on the call, but credit Lopez, he knocked down both from the stripe. Similar lapses, on offense and on defense occur with Bayle$$ and Chase out. Fix these lapses (and getting healthy would be a big step too) and UA's got a shot at the Final Four.
In order to accomplish this, let me get bac to the point about basic premises. In an ideal world we all understand each other perfectly all the time. We are Clairvoyant. In a defensive stand a team would always understand what his teammates see and act correspondingly. KO and the coaches need to spread the understanding.

"Do you know where the weight room is?"

Daniels

In the tradition of watching TV (okay TV shows downloaded from the internet) I have really gotten into "The Wire". This is quite possibly the best show I have ever seen. The problem, as with all great TV shows, is that the characters really become a part of your life. For example, I'm chillin at a bar with my buddy and see some beautiful lady standing by the jukebox. Immediately I think to myself, what would Bunk and McNulty do in this situation?
This is just one example, the most frustrating thing about these great characters is that they transcend the actors who play them.
So there I was, minding my own business watching more TV the other night (a recurring them in my life) when Lt. Daniels shows up on "Lost". Now I realize this guy is an actor who needs to make a living, but he is now in two shows airing at the same time, this is just too damn confusing. In "Lost" he is some conspiracy worker, who is evil and trying to do something with the island. In "The Wire" he is the epitome of what a good cop is supposed to be. Although, if you know the show nobody is really "good". How the hell am I supposed to believe this guy is these two characters? There should be some sort of TV code against this.

Welcome to Legal Entourage

Welcome. In one sentence: this is a blog intended to analyze LAW and MEDIA. What follows will be a weekly submission.

Entourage and Property

In Entourage's first season finale, "New York" (NY), we see many of the dilemmas in intellectual property. First of all, if you haven't seen Entourage this is a classic example of a quality TV show. The character interaction of Vince, Eric, Drama, and Turtle set in the LA world run by Ari Gold is a great distraction from reality for any viewer.
Secondly, NY represents Vince's property right over his own image. The contrasting of Vince's contract to film "Queen's Blvd." with Turtle's unauthorized use of Vince's photo to promote a party that Vince never attended, presents an illustration worthy of investigation. This episode presents an illustration of the conceptualization of property rights in Vanna White's suit against Samsung Electronics. In Samsung Judge Goodwin talks about the importance of context in establishing a proprietary interest in identity:
Taken together [the images] lead to the only conclusion that any sports viewer who has registered a discernible pulse in the past five years would reach: the ad is about Michael Jordan." White v. Samsung Electronics, 971 F.2d 1395, 1399.

In NY Vince made the decision to shoot "Queens Blvd.", a flic by Sundance winning director Billy Walsh. In the previous episode Vince's image as an actor is extremely important. In making the decision to shoot the film, Billy tested Vince's allegiance by scheduling a scene with Vince receiving a blow job. In that episode Vince built his "identity" as an actor to further heights.
In NY Turtle decides that he'll need money before the crew head back to New York for filming. As an outsider to the managment end of things, Turtle doesn't know that creating this party will be a publicity headache. Vince's image is owned by his agency for the purpose of getting more money. So they provide Vince with a publicist. Although publicists serve many important functions (including quality Britney Spears photos), they cultivate the identity of a star to produce more money for the stars next movie. In this case Turtle uses a random photo of Vince rather than the publicist approved version. He hands out fliers with this illicit photo on it to people all over LA to ensure his profit for the party. He is essentially depicting Vince in a manner which is damaging to the "Vince" the publicist is trying to create.
From a legal standpoint a question to ask is if this sort of usage intrudes on any "identity" rights similar to those of Vanna White in Samsung. This usage was for profit supposedly licensed by Vince. The advertisement certainly seemed to promote Vince as showing up at the party, and at the least the flier showed Vicne's involvement. Vince's identity was channeled, but it was not the identity the publicist was cultivating.
Thirdly, Thanks for reading this and post any movies I should watch.
Spencer