Six years out of SW, and Matt Laviano is the chief operating officer of a booming TV production company responsible for “Joe Millionare 2,” “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance” and “Temptation Island,” among other popular reality shows. The Commentator recently joined Laviano for a chat about his path to this prestigious position, the future of reality TV, and the power of a J.D.

Laviano, like many sadistically committed entertainment attorneys, turned down several cushy positions at tort litigation firms for random small jobs at entertainment firms as an independent contractor. As long as it was entertainment related, he claims “no opportunity was too small to hear about.” For almost an entire year after graduating he looked for work while counting pennies and shrinking under the weight of his school loans, until a small, low-paying production company, brought to his attention by our very own Prof. Robert Lind, offered him an assistant job in business affairs. Within a few years, Rocket Science Laboratories produced several wildly successful shows for the Fox network, and Laviano rose up the ladder through business affairs to his current position where he coordinates the operations for the entire company, gets two weeks paid vacation, and even has time to entertain his hobbies such as Bocce and ‘80s movies music montages. His job consists of managing all production activities, overseeing business and legal affairs, and working intricately with development both on set and in the office. His duties include determining where to pitch ideas, structuring deals, and developing each season’s slate.

Although he may be somewhat biased, Laviano believes that reality TV is an underdeveloped art form in the United States, and that it “is a genre that is not going to be going away and has not yet reached maturation.” He cites to the fact that European countries and India air far more reality programming than do the networks in the U.S. The rest of the world has become so indoctrinated to reality programming that in contrast, “America’s Next Top Model” looks like a heartwarming coming-of-age tale. Accordingly, Rocket Science Labs, closing the gap, has 15 projects in development at any given time. Corroborating Laviano’s belief in the longevity of reality TV is the growing public demand: 40 percent of all households watching TV tuned into Fox to watch “Joe Millionare 2,” which beat out “American Idol” at 30 percent during the same season. If you happen to be one of the aforementioned reality junkies, make sure to tune in to Fox next spring for Rocket Science Lab’s new project, “When Women Rule the World.”

Laviano said he is always looking for ways to expand the reach of Rocket Science Lab’s content. According to him, the internet will play a very pivotal role in the expansion of reality television, because companies who recognize the profit potential of sites such as YouTube.com are responding by throwing a large influx of ad revenue dollars over online space. Advertisers are bringing attention to brands by creating mini content that highlight them, such as the two-minute webisodes on budtv.com.

Another untapped revenue source is mobile content, which has the potential to very quickly move beyond wall papers and ring tones. “Soon we will see original creations built for the mobile space that have the possibility to be a great advertising revenue,” says Laviano, his enthusiasm contagious. “This is one of the most exciting times to be in television,” he says.

When asked if he wanted to leave the SW student body with one piece of advice, he responded, “I think that a law degree is a great foundation to do whatever you want to do in the entertainment business but particularly in the television business. … [It] gives you a great base and a great platform to really get into whatever you want.”

Written by Alexis Quinones, 3L

The Women’s Law Association held its annual Meet Your Professors event on Sept. 17, featuring a panel of female SW professors. The professors related unique stories and experiences about their legal careers, from attending law school to becoming professors, and balancing work and family life.

Prof. Judy Sloan described how she was one of only three women in her law school class. Her criminal law professor purposefully called on a woman when discussing a rape case “The case involved an old man accused of rape who was impotent. In other words, he couldn’t have raped anyone,” said Sloan.

“My husband was a urology resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital [then] and … he coached me on the details of male impotence. Sure enough, I was called on. I used this as an opportunity to lecture everyone on male impotence, to the point that even the professor had to blush! It was my way of dealing with the difficulty of being a woman in a male atmosphere. It was also my way of saying: ‘Don’t mess with me!’”

When Sloan began teaching, she was the only woman teaching classes on the faculty. “The first class I taught, when two men in the back saw that I was a woman teacher, they slammed their books shut and walked out the door. So what did I do the next class? I called on them. I didn’t know a whole lot, but I was further ahead in the book than they were, and that was enough.”

Prof. Catherine Carpenter began law school in 1973, and there were about 10 women in her class of 300. She was a part of the first Women’s Law Association at SW. “We wanted to get together; we <em>needed</em> to get together to talk about the things that were happening to us,” said Carpenter about starting the Women’s Law Association.

Carpenter spoke about the importance of the growing number of women in the legal field. “Since women are going to be such an important part of the legal workforce, we have the opportunity to frame the conversation in terms of how and to what extent we want to shape or change our professional environment - what is important to us and what sort of demands we want to make,” said Carpenter. “Women only have that ability because of the critical mass in the workforce, and consequently women have a little more power than the previous generation had.”

Prof. Karen Smith recounted a story from her days as a young attorney. She was discussing a case with a man who looked at her very strangely. When she asked him why he was looking at her in this way he responded, “I’ve never seen a woman speak intelligently before. The only women in my life are my wife and secretary.”

“You sit here today as a representative of women, because there will be people even in this day who will remember having a class with you and meeting you,” Smith said. “And this will break down the barriers in people’s mind of what women can do.”

Prof. Nyree Gray shared her experiences as a young attorney in the courtroom. “I would show up to court at 8:30 and somehow hit the trifecta - I was the only woman, the only black, and the youngest person in the room,” said Gray. “How did I get so lucky?”

“The good thing about Southwestern is that there are so many women here. We’re all here, together, pulling for each other to do well,” she said. She advised students that once they become successful attorneys, “don’t forget to look back and share what you have experienced and learned with another woman.”

Prof.Sung Hui Kim worked as a corporate lawyer before teaching at SW and described it as a very competitive environment for women. She told a story about a pregnant attorney who was advised by her doctor that for health reasons, she could not work more than 40 hours per week. When she informed the firm of this, a female partner said to her, “I worked more than 40 hours a week when I was pregnant. I don’t see why you can’t.”

“The workplace has not really caught up to our notions of equity,” said Kim.

Prof. Karin Graver recounted an incident from her early years as an associate in a large firm. One of the partners, who had just become a grandfather, got on an elevator with her, and asked, “Do you have a kiss on the cheek for the new grandfather?”

“I was surprised that this kind of thing still happens, although I don’t think it happens as much as it used to,” said Graver. “Some more senior attorneys may not recognize when they’re being sexist.”

Prof. Isabelle Gunning, who attended Yale University, said, “I went to a college where there weren’t any women in undergrad, let alone law school.” She stressed the importance of women coming together and sharing their experiences. “Come and talk to us, because that’s what will empower you,” said Gunning. “An association like this is so wonderful because it allows you to learn who you are.”

To find out more about the WLA, please contact: swwomenslaw@gmail.com

Written by Stephanie Herrick, 1L

OK

I’ve got to read this case

We’re going to talk about it in class tomorrow

So I’ve got to get it done today

Alright, here I go

“Justice Field delivered the opinion…”

Field

that’s a good solid judge name

If I were a judge, I would want that to be my name

No, wait

My last name would be Judge

That way when I meet people I would say

“Hi, my name’s Judge, guess what I do for a living?”

And people would just get a kick out of it

Then of course if I wasn’t a real judge it would just be awkward

I would say, “Hi, I’m Judge”

and they would say in a joking manner,

“Wow you’re name’s Judge, don’t tell me you’re a real Judge!”

and I would say, “No, I’m actually an insurance broker.”

And then there would be an awkward silence.

Ok, focus,

Back to the case

“The plaintiff alleges his insurer, Hawaii State Physicians…”

Hawaii

Remember Hawaiian Punch?

That was a good drink

It was like a sugary version of Kool-aid

It had that small little pasty guy with the crazy red hair and the Hawaiian shirt as the logo

I’ve always wondered,

If he lived in a tropical place like Hawaii,

Why was he so pasty?

Considering the amount of sun they get over there

I would imagine everyone’s pretty tan out there

Maybe he’s a recluse

Yeah

He lives in Hawaii but has agoraphobia,

So he stays inside most of the time

But in order to compensate for his inability to enjoy the tropical scenery

His family tries to bring “Hawaii” to him

And they bring him a Hawaiian shirt, set a fake palm tree in his house…

They get him some fruit punch to boot

Then he becomes so touched by the sentiment he decides to share a little piece of Hawaii

All over the world,

For people who will probably never get to go

And thus the birth of Hawaiian Punch

That’s pretty inspirational

No, it probably didn’t happen like that though

Probably a soft drink corporation came up with it

Distributed it all over the country

But still… Read the full story

The onset of college football means preseason polls and rankings.  Nearly every sports media outlet has a preseason list of top 25 teams.  I’ve compiled the preseason rankings from five large sports media outlets.  I averaged out the rankings to see which five teams had the highest average rating.

The five preseason rankings I included are the Associated Press poll, the USA Today Coaches poll, the CNNSI.com power rankings, the ESPN.com power rankings, and the FoxSports.com rankings.  Along with the average ranking for each team I take a look at how things have played out through the first three weeks.  Like all things that have to do with college football, there’s bound to be people who don’t agree.  That’s part of what makes it fun.  Here we go.

GEORGIA BULLDOGS

Average ranking - 2.2

Biggest concern - the SEC schedule

Georgia’s SEC schedule is simply brutal.  The Bulldogs have four teams on their schedule that are currently ranked in the top 10.  Two of those games are road games.  It doesn’t get harder than that.

How they’ve fared

So far they’ve beat up on a pair of inferior teams and scraped out a win against the Gamecocks.  They’ve passed their first SEC test against a South Carolina team that beat them last year, but they only managed 14 points, which is a troubling sign for Bulldog fans.  They are one of the rare teams that won and still fell a few spots in the polls.

What lies ahead?

Scoring fourteen points on South Carolina is a bad omen for a team set to face opponents that have a comparable defense and a better offense than the Gamecocks.  A 14-7 win at home against South Carolina translates into a long night playing at LSU.  The Bulldogs are guaranteed a spot in the BCS Championship Game if they run the table, but their path to Miami is the most difficult among these teams.

Were they right?

No.  Their quarterback has put up mediocre numbers, including a paltry four touchdown passes in three games.  Their schedule won’t allow them to score fourteen points and win very often.  The pollsters gave too much weight to a returning quarterback that was mediocre last year and not enough weight to the schedule.

Read the full story

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel was quoted earlier this season: “You always hear baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.”  Remarkably, after this marathon-like 162-game season, the Dodgers found themselves in first place ahead of their National League West rivals. Seeing that last year the National League West was extremely competitive, with four of the five teams having winning records and the Colorado Rockies representing the National League in the World Series, it was widely believed that the National League West would be baseball’s toughest division this year.  However, it was as if all five teams forgot to stretch, hydrate, and load up on carbohydrates.  This allowed the Dodgers to suffer injuries, make unwise lineup decisions, and eventually catch a second wind to capture the division title.

Throughout 2008, the Dodgers experienced injuries to several key players, including second baseman Jeff Kent, closer Takashi Saito, and starting pitcher Brad Penny.  However, none were as critical as when All-Star shortstop Rafael Furcal strained his back in the beginning of May. At the time, Furcal was the Dodgers most valuable player as he led the team in on-base (.448 OBP) and slugging percentages (.597 SLG).  Granted, it was highly unlikely that Furcal would keep producing these superstar statistics, his unique skill combination of getting on base, hitting for power, and running at high speed was surely missed. Making matters worse, Furcal’s replacements were an offensive black hole in his absence.  Angel Berroa (.314 OBP, .335 SLG), Nomar Garciappara (.306 OBP, .419 SLG) and Chin-lung Hu (.231 OBP, .207 SLG) spent most of the season being automatic outs in the Dodgers lineup.  While Furcal’s injury was a serious setback (no pun intended), the Dodgers were able to stay with the pack and eventually win the division. Read the full story

With the start of the 2008-2009 season a few months away, things seem to be going well for NBA Commissioner David Stern and the NBA itself. The Tim Doheny scandal, in which a referee was involved in fixed gambling, is away from public view, and the Boston Celtics, at least for now, have seemed to level the growing disparity of competition between the Eastern and Western Conferences. However, a potential problem may lie ahead for the NBA. A number of players have signed lucrative contracts with European teams this off-season for far more money than they would get with an NBA team.

Most of the players that have left for Europe are foreigners who began their careers overseas, players such as Nenad Krstic, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Carlos Delfino. While these players have enjoyed moderate success in the NBA, none of them are superstars, leaving no glaring void in the league. Rumors have been circulating recently that Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko is entertaining an offer from a team in Russia, and if he accepts the offer, then he will be the most significant foreign player to leave for an overseas team. Read the full story

The Women

This is most definitely a chick flick for one very good reason: there are NO MEN in the entire film, not even any male extras. It was actually quite creepy, like some weird science-fiction movie where all the men in the world disappeared. While most women could only dream of such a world, after a while it just became weird. I wanted to see a man! They talked about men the entire movie, given that the main storyline was Meg Ryan’s character’s husband cheating on her with Eva Mendes, yet we never saw him. Debra Messing’s character was exactly that - a mess. Jada Pinkett Smith had her moments, but I think they went a little overboard on the lesbian thing. We get it, she likes women. Ryan looked better than she’s looked in years and helped keep the movie going. Overall, I would say it was a decent film. There was some good comedy here and there, but it seemed to lag at times. In a year in which “Sex and the City” came out setting the bar very high, this film just seemed to fall short.

Men, don’t watch this movie. You would think a movie called “The Women” would have a few more attractive women. I’ll agree that Eva Mendes is a stunner, but she’s hardly in the film, and most of the time she looks uncomfortable on screen - probably because the rest of the cast, mostly older women, are giving her the evil eye. The plot of the movie is as forgettable as most of the talent - many of whom haven’t been relevant since the last century: yes, I’m talking to you, Meg Ryan. So guys, I don’t care who asks you - your girlfriend, your fiancé, your wife, your mother, or your Aunt Sue visiting from Nebraska … just say no. If they give you the puppy eyes, just put on some heavily tinted sunglasses and listen to your iPod full blast (preferably not while driving).

Vicky Christina Barcelona

I would rate this movie a date movie. For the women, there is Javier Bardem. Need I say more? Not only is he very appealing to look at, but his accent is to die for. He plays a free spirit who oozes confidence and sexuality, and he plays it well. What woman doesn’t want a sexy foreign man to walk up to her table and ask her to fly away with him for a weekend of lovemaking … check please! While the women fawn over Javier, the men have their share of eye candy as well. Not only does the film star Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz, there is a much-talked-about scene in which the two characters make out. If that is not reason enough for a guy to see this film, then I don’t know what is. As for the storyline, this movie is a typical Woody Allen film. It’s quirky and a little risqué at times, and of course, the ending will leave you thinking “WTF?” But it wouldn’t be an Allen film if it ended any differently. Overall, it is a good film that is a nice change from the same old “boy meets girl, they fall in love, live happily ever after” date movie.

I’m going to go ahead and call this a date movie. Not so much because I like the movie, but because I enjoy saying “Barthelona” with the Castilian accent (warning; saying “Barthelona” is sexy, but can be habit forming. I’m trying to quit, but it’s not easy - there must be a patch or some gum that releases small doses of “Barthelona” to help ease the process. …) Anyway, the movie is about two girls who go to Barcelona and have their lives turned upside-down by the strangely appealing Javier Bardem. (I don’t get what women see in his cavemen-esque looks and unintelligible accent). I think men can relate to this film because it validates our notions that women just don’t know what they want. Oh yeah, Penelope Cruz is in there too somewhere - she’s always kissing, cussing, or shooting a gun. The ending was terrible - but that’s to be expected with Woody Allen.

The Dark Knight

For those of you who have yet to see this film, you’re in luck, because it is going to be in the theaters for quite some time. However ladies, I’m going to vote this one a movie for the dudes. Of course, the movie has some very nice looking men, which we would all enjoy watching, especially Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart, but looks alone are not enough. Given that it is a Batman movie, there is obviously a lot of action and an abundance of special effects. Most action movies that fall into the date movie category have a love story to keep the ladies interested. While on the onset you would think this movie has an enticing love story between Batman and Rachel, you could not be more wrong. The whole movie we are led to believe that Batman secretly loves Rachel, but given the choice to save her life or Harvey Dent, who does he choose? Dent … seriously? Where’s the love Batman? How does the hero let the girl die? He most definitely earned the title “Dark Knight” for that one. Dudes could care less about the mushy love stuff, so this movie is perfect for them.

Now here is a movie for the boys. Batman rocks, and we all know it. True, he isn’t my favorite superhero, being that he has no actual powers - and don’t go saying that makes him even cooler because it doesn’t. We all know that if he could switch with Superman, he would do it in a flash; though he would also probably switch with Flash in a flash … but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, the movie is full of action and some really great acting, especially by Heath Ledger. I’m still not the biggest fan of Christian Bale as Batman - he always sounds like he needs a glass of water when he’s wearing that suit - but I’ve grown to tolerate him. Anyway the plot is quite good, and I don’t mind the whole Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character dying thing … mostly because I’m sick of producers replacing actors and pretending they are the same person. (Katie Holmes isn’t Maggie Gyllenhaal … no matter how much she wishes otherwise).

Written by Garen Alikisanian, 2L and Caroline Page, 2L

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) recently introduced the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act to the Senate. This piece of legislation suggests that in the event a copyright holder cannot be found, others should be entitled to use the work, which is deemed to be orphaned. Should the copyright holder come forward, the infringing users will be allowed to escape liability if they offer “reasonable” compensation to owner of the copyrighted material.

While it is important to encourage creativity and the preservation of heritage through the use of copyrightable materials, some find it difficult to imagine that it should come at the cost of a copyright owner’s interest in his own works. Intellectual property is still property and has real value.

This piece of legislation is basically an adverse possession statute for the intellectual property world. While adverse possession is a principal that is widely acknowledged in real property, it has historically been rejected in the world of intellectual property for a variety of reasons.

First, there is a significant difference in ownership of real property and intellectual property. Primarily, ownership of intellectual property is not perpetual. Therefore, the owner of a copyrighted work will only have, in most cases, life of the author plus 70 years, during which he can exploit the work. Real property can be exploited indefinitely. For this reason, copyright protection proponents argue that it is important to afford protection to the so-called orphaned works.

In light of the fact that copyright law affords limited time protection, those wishing to use a copyrighted work are welcome to seek a license. While proponents of the bill may argue that orphaned works, ones whose owners cannot be located, should be exploited for the good of the public and in furtherance of national heritage, others ask why these works cannot be used at the statutorily mandated time when the copyright has expired. Under current law, if a person wishes to use a work, he must get a license or face the possibility of statutory damages in an infringement suit, regardless of the copyright owner’s claim to the work.

Second, opponents state that this bill steps into the dangerous territory of stripping owners of copyrights of legal recourse when their works are infringed. They say that the argument that “reasonable” compensation is offered if the author comes forward only adds insult to injury.

Those opposing the bill say artists and authors should be allowed the highest level of autonomy in deciding in which fashion their works are used, and more importantly, to set a monetary value on their work. In cases where their value is off base, the nature of the market will correct it - otherwise the author of the work will remain a “starving artist.” It has never been the place of the legislature or a court to guestimate “reasonable” values for works still protected by federal copyright.

Bill opponents state that its passage will be a regression for American intellectual property rights, and that the U.S. should be striving to meet the standards set by other countries who afford copyrighted works higher protection and not stripping our own authors of the few protections we do afford them.

Written by Aleksandra Urban, 3L

On the night of September 5, 2008 Christopher Nolan screened his debut film Following to a full-house of independent film devotees at LACMA’s Bing Theatre.

A Q&A session hosted by the Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan followed the film.

While Nolan has most recently received notoriety for directing The Dark Knight, in addition to Batman Begins and the psycho-drama Memento, the director broke into the industry thanks to his success with Following at the Slamdance Festival in 1999.

Slamdance, which compliments the other snowy Park City independent film festival Sundance, currently celebrateing its fifteen year anniversary, prides itself as the preeminent festival by filmmaker, for filmmakers.

Read the full story

Since Sen. John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, the 2008 presidential race has been forever changed.  Palin, a self-described hockey mom who lives the libertarian frontier lifestyle, seemed like an unlikely choice.  The initial public reaction was mixed and still is, but a star was rising; McCain’s campaign was saved from obscurity, and the Republican Party was definitively taken off the endangered species list.

Gov. Sarah Palin. Photo Credit: asecopndhandconjecture(flickr.com)

As a mother of five with a blue-collar, working-class husband, Palin’s story is very relatable to American voters.  Her small town, down-to-earth charm is a breath of fresh air, when compared to candidates that believe people in small towns “cling to guns and religion” or who can’t seem to remember how many houses they own.  Whereas many candidates prattle on about stories of their parents’ or grandparents’ working-class origins, Palin is actually living it.  Her outdoorsy, moose-hunting lifestyle epitomizes the limitless frontier culture that is uniquely American, yet rare in today’s urban-centered political culture.  Conservative MSNBC commentator Tucker Carlson was quoted as saying, “Sarah Palin hunts and fishes. …So as a sportsman, I have a profound emotional attachment to Sarah Palin that a reason doesn’t touch.” Read the full story