Michael Stuhlbarg got a lot more than he bargained for when he stepped out for some exercise over the weekend. On Sunday, the Call Me By Your Name st
13.03.2024 - 06:39 / deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Amidst allegations of financial impropriety and corporate skullduggery, the collapse of the relationship between UTA and MediaLink founder Michael Kassan now sees the parties battling it out with competing legal actions and lots of finger pointing – even by Hollywood standards.
Having resigned on March 6 from the agency that bought his strategic company just over two years ago, Kassam took UTA to court first at the start of business Tuesday with a $25 million action demanding arbitration. The filing in LA Superior Court this morning from NYC-based attorney Sanford Michelman on Kassam’s behalf not only names UTA as a defendant, but also points the finger of responsibility directly at UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer, who is named as a defendant too.
“This case is a result of Kassan resigning from MediaLink due to Zimmer’s breach of contract and repeated broken promises, and Kassan electing to waive his nearly $10,000,000 severance payment to compete with MediaLink as permitted in his Partner Services Agreement,” the 16-page breach of contract and fraud filing says.
UTA sees it very differently and insist they fired Kassan on March 7 for cause and having his paws deep in the corporate cookie jar. Calling Kassan “shameless,” in one of the more polite handles for the clearly unconventional executive, UTA filed a jury trial seeking constructive fraud complaint against the MediaLink CEO in the late afternoon of Tuesday.
In the timeline of lawsuits, the UTA action certainly stands as a response to Kassan’s early AM action.
“Specifically, Respondents engaged in a deliberate secret scheme to fraudulently induce Kassan to agree to a sale of MediaLink, LLC only to then walk back the very promises made in the purchase contract,
Michael Stuhlbarg got a lot more than he bargained for when he stepped out for some exercise over the weekend. On Sunday, the Call Me By Your Name st
Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The latest twist in the battle between UTA and former MediaLink chairman-CEO Michael Kassan is a defamation lawsuit filed by Kassan against UTA attorney Bryan Freedman. Kassan has sued Freedman for slander and libel stemming from a statement that the lawyer made earlier this week to Deadline, which is a sibling publication to Variety under Penske Media Corp. Kassan and UTA parted ways earlier this month amid a flurry of litigation and arbitration filings and heated accusations from both sides.
In all of the exorbitant fallout from Michael Kassan’s exit from UTA earlier this month even the lawyers are getting shrapnel now.
Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Leach has reunited with her dance partner Vito Coppola following her rumoured split from Bobby Brazier.Taking to Instagram, the Coronation Street actress, 23, shared a string of smiley snaps with Vito, 31, as they travelled on the tube together. She wrote: "Fun times," alongside a red love heart emoji.
Gogglebox star Linda McGarry has suffered an awful three years, losing both her husband and her son in that time.This week, it was confirmed that her son, George Gilbey, who appeared on the show alongside her, passed away on March 27. George - who was best known for making the nation laugh from the comfort of his sofa with his mum and step-dad - died aged just 40, following a reported accident at his workplace.The family, from Essex, joined the show in 2014, with Linda, George and her husband Pete all becoming overnight stars.
Celebrity Big Brother's Fern Britton returned to the This Morning sofa on Wednesday to reveal all about her experience on the ITV reality show - and has finally spoken out about her disagreements with Strictly Come Dancing's Nikita Kuzmin in the house. Whilst on the ITV reality show, Fern and Nikita found themselves clashing a number of times, with Nikita nominating Fern for eviction throughout the competition. Speaking to This Morning's Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, Fern revealed that she and Nikita "didn't get each other" during their time in the house.
Michael McIntyre has won the nation's hearts with his cheeky grin and flawless comedic timing.The London comedian, 47, is no stranger to fame as he has been entertaining audiences across the UK for 15 years and even earned the title of highest-grossing stand up comedian in the world back in 2012. Recently, he's been entertaining us on Saturday nights with his star-studded show, The Wheel, which is full of laughs for all ages. But what does Michael do when he's not making us giggle? Let's take a peek at his life off stage...
After an extended break away from our screens following the fallout of Keanu Taylor’s murder last Christmas, Walford favourite Sharon Watts makes her long awaited return to EastEnders this week - and as expected, brings more than a little chaos with her. As regular viewers will know, Keanu was accidentally murdered last Christmas by Linda Carter, when she stabbed him with a meat fork to stop him from choking Sharon to death, following the revelation that her son Albie wasn’t his.
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Kassan‘s team promised late last week they would up the legal ante with UTA unless the agency completely dropped its lawsuit against the resigned/fired (depending on who you ask) MediaLink CEO, and today they did just that.
EXCLUSIVE: If you thought the multi-million-dollar war of words and legal filings between UTA and former Medialink CEO Michael Kassan had been bare knuckles before, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía have sparked intense speculation about whether they are still thinking about each other.The intrigue began when Puerto Rican sensation Rauw Alejandro took to his social media platforms to share a snapshot of himself dining at a ramen restaurant in Tokyo. While this might seem like an ordinary occurrence for a celebrity, what caught the attention of eagle-eyed fans was that the restaurant featured prominently in one of Rosalía’s music videos.
Michael McIntyre has been entertaining the masses for over a decade now. The funny man is one of the most popular stars on the UK comedy circuit and regularly appears on screen - and stages near you in sold out live shows.
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer United Talent Agency has amended its lawsuit against former MediaLink chief Michael Kassan — striking its initial claims against its former partner to move those grievances to arbitration. The amended complaint offers new details of allegations of financial mismanagement against the advertising industry’s famous matchmaker and fixer, who blasts the litigation in a statement to Variety as a “smear” effort.
Lise Pedersen The ongoing war in Gaza was high on the agenda at the awards ceremony of CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s international documentary film festival, with numerous filmmakers calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as they picked up their awards. Opening the ceremony following a concert by the locally-based Middle East Peace Ensemble, artistic director Niklas Engstrøm told the crowd gathered in Copenhagen’s historic Kunsthal Charlottenborg, which is home to the fest throughout the 10-day event: “It felt right to start with this basic human message of hope and peace.” On the theme of conflicts past and present, Italian director Alessandra Celesia picked up the top Dox:Award for “The Flats,” a powerful, timely and haunting film about a community living in the shadow of the pain and trauma of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Tony McNamara likes a challenge but when Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos first presented him with Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel by Poor Things to adapt into a script, even the seasoned Australian writer admits he found the material daunting.
Murtada Elfadl A successful photographer celebrated around the world. A writer who resorts to publishing her own novels. Each had a long history of relationships, familial and otherwise, before they met in middle age.
Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer United Talent Agency has been accused of breach of contract and fraud in relation to its 2021 acquisition of the consultancy firm MediaLink. MediaLink founder and UTA partner Michael Kassan, whose exit from the company nearly a week ago has not yet been reported, claims that UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer and two other top executives engaged in bad faith in the absorption and management of his company, according to documents filed with mediation service JAMS which Variety reviewed. This led Kassan to resign last week, the filing says.
Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, the strategic advisory firm acquired by UTA in 2021, is out.
William Earl administrator It’d be easy enough for The Black Keys — singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — to remain in rock star mode at this point in their career. After all, they’ve reached the top of their craft: radio hits, arena tours, festival headlining slots, and twelve albums.
A school where pupils act as ‘digital leaders’ to teach each other about online safety has been hailed by inspectors. St Cuthbert’s Catholic Primary School, in the Pemberton area of Wigan, has been given a ‘good’ rating following a visit by Ofsted in January.