Entertainment Legal News

Attorney General Calls On Movie Industry To Stop Depicting Smoking In Films Accessible To Children

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today joined 29 states, the District of Columbia and Guam in calling on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and major movie studios, as well as the directors and screenwriters guilds, to stop depicting smoking in films accessible to minors, as recommended by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

In letters sent today, Blumenthal and fellow attorneys general noted that the MPAA pledged in June 2006 to seek the HSPH's recommendations on curbing smoking in movies viewed by children and teenagers.

HSPH, whose research shows that minors who view smoking in films are three times more likely to try cigarettes, issued its recommendation to the movie industry in February: "Take substantive and effective action to eliminate the depiction of smoking from films accessible to children and youths and take leadership and credit for doing so." Read more at ct.gov.

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	Did You Know?
	The title of Option is a defined factor When a creative entity, such as producer, artist, or studio, discovers a property and evaluates the rights status, they will, in most cases, attempt to negotiate an 'option' for the rights. An option is the right to acquire ownership of an intellectual property for a pre-determined amount of time. Size of the option payment often determines length of the agreement as well as how many forms of the rights will be included in the deal. While most option payments are subject to negotiation, script deals often work out to an even percentage of the purchase price.