Neil Burger's latest film, The Illusionist has made the news headlines today, but not because of anything to do with the movie's content. According to Hollywood Reporter, Bob Yari has been in a large legal battle with co-producers Cathy Schulman and Tom Nunan since Crash won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Producers Guild of America had denied Yari a producing credit for Crash, and of course this lead to angry feelings towards his partners.
The latest action came when Yari tried to have Schulman and Nunan's names removed from the credits of the upcoming The Illusionist. Unfortunately for Mr. Yari, it appears as though he lost this latest fight:
Producers Cathy Schulman and Tom Nunan have been granted a temporary restraining order barring producing partner Bob Yari from removing their names from the credits of the upcoming feature "The Illusionist."
This has to be some kind of special event, as giving credit becomes a legal matter for a film. The story is bizarre enough, and you can read the rest of it here. One thing to note is, concerning the order that forces Yari to include his partners' names:
The order is only temporary, allowing both sides to prepare arguments and evidence before a June 23 hearing at which Schulman and Nunan will seek to make the order permanent.
About the film, from IMDB:
Director Neil Burger's screen adaptation of Steven Millhauser's short story 'Eisenheim the Illusionist'. Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is a magician in early 1900's Vienna, who falls in love with a woman well above his social standing. When she becomes engaged to a Crown Prince, Eisenheim uses his powers to win her back and undermine the stability of the royal house of Vienna.
The film stars Edward Norton (Eisenheim, the illusionist), Jessica Biel (Princess Sophie, HAHAHA), and Paul Giamatti (Chief Inspector Uhl). It has already been shown at the Newport Beach International Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival, and will be released widely in the US on August 18 of this year.
