A Not So Happy Gilmore

Unlike the millions of fans who rejoiced after hearing that Luke’s Diner would be back delving out gallons of coffee for Rory and Lorelai, albeit through your Netflix subscription at a yet to be disclosed date later this year, Gavin Polone was not amongst those millions. Along with Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Daniel Palladino, Polone was one of the original executive producers of Gilmore Girls. The beloved sitcom aired on The WB, later CW, between 2000 and 2007 and Polone claims that Warner Bros. compensated him $32,500 per episode and gave him credit as an executive producer. According to Cinema Blend, shortly after it was announced that Gilmore Girls would be revised for four new 90-minute episodes exclusively on Netflix, Polone contacted Warner Bros. Television, requesting that he be compensated for what he believed was due to him under the terms of an agreement both parties signed during the show’s original run. However, rather than pay Polone, Warner Bros. argues that, because the new episodes are derivative productions, rather than continuing episodes, and that the revival is not actually a “television show” since it will be produced by and will be exclusively available on the popular streaming service, they do not owe Polone anything. Unsatisfied with this response, Polone filed a complaint against Warner Bros., requesting a jury trial and a minimum $195,000 in damages. The drama does not end there. Polone further contends Peter Roth, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Television, instigated this alleged breach of contract due to a personal grudge he holds against him.

And leave it to Lorelei Gilmore to perfectly capture the essence of Polone’s complaint: “I can be flexible. As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I’m totally flexible.”

 

Loren Shokes is an Entertainment and Sports Highlight Contributor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current second year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2017).