http://apnews.myway.com//article/20030618/D7RO7T5O0.html Spike Lee is suing Viacom because they were going to rename TNN to "Spike TV". First off, I dig most of his movies. I agree that he is a very talented individual. But he is a little too full of himself this time around. Even being a fan, he is not what comes to mind when I hear the name "Spike". When I hear "Spike", I think of a leather clad hoodlum from the 50's. I think of several dogs with that name. Spike Lee is not like Cher or Madonna. Those people have established themselves as one-name people. Spike Lee has not. He is always known and referred to as "Spike Lee". Besides, Spike isn't even is real name. Go figure....
Don't worry, he should lose very quickly. I hope. The only thing I think of when I hear the name/word Spike is a big railroad spike.
That is hilarious. i think of a little puppy with a spiked collar when i hear that name....not the knickerbocker fan...
I believe it was Craig Kilborn who said something to the effect of: "It's not like they're calling it the Haven't Made a Good Film Since Do The Right Thing channel" I understand that thousands of bulldogs across the country are planning their own lawsuit, including the cartoon dog from the Sylvester cartoons.
VIACOM: SPIKE SUIT COSTING US A FORTUNE June 18, 2003 -- What's in a name? At least $16 million. That's the amount of cash The National Network says it has lost by not being allowed to change its name to Spike TV - and the network fears it could wind up losing "hundreds of millions of dollars" more. TNN, owned by Sumner Redstone's Viacom Inc., made the claims yesterday in the state Appellate Division, where it is seeking to lift a lower court's temporary ban on the name change, which was supposed to go into effect this past Monday. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub issued the injunction against the switch last week, after director Spike Lee filed a suit arguing TNN "sought to exploit" his persona with the name Spike TV, which it had marketed as an "aggressive and irreverent" network for men. Lee said he thought his reputation would suffer "irreparable injury" if Spike TV went on air, because it could lead the public into thinking he's involved with a station that will revolve around James Bond, wrestling and a Pamela Anderson-inspired cartoon. "He claims . . . that it would cause irreparable injury to 'associate an acclaimed artist's name' with the 'demeaning, vapid and quasi-pornographic content of Spike TV,' " the network said its in filing. But in reality, TNN argued, it is the one suffering "irreparable and multimillion dollar injury." TNN's "estimated losses for the first week of the injunction alone are in excess of $16.8 million," including "loss of media dollars, production costs, and advertising revenues," lawyer Clara Kim said in an affirmation. The network also said it has spent more than $30 million advertising the channel - and now viewers can't find it. "Because of the injunction, we instructed cable operators to halt the process of switching the logo icon to Spike TV as of 12:01 a.m. on June 16, as publicly announced and planned, engendering substantial confusion, expense and disruption," the appeal says. "Because television program guides are printed weeks in a advance, throughout the nation, program guides refer to 'Spike TV' but there is no Spike TV on viewers screens," the TNN appeal continued. The appeal contends that Lee is trying to "monopolize" and violate the network's First Amendment right to use the word "spike" - which, it says, is "a word used in ordinary parlance" and as a name, and which has been "commonly and widely used throughout the centuries, including by others in the entertainment and television industry." In his decision last week, Tolub noted that TNN President Albie Hecht "has conceded that Spike Lee was one of the role models for the network name," and that, coupled with the network's marketing itself as "aggressive and irreverent," could mislead the public into thinking Lee was involved. He also found while "the word 'spike' has many meanings," the focus in this case is the word's use in "the film and television industry."
Pgabrial is "Captain everyone is a racist".... A white person is not allowed to dislike a black person in his world. Too bad...I have not liked Spike Lee since he talked Smack about the Rocks in the Knicks Rocks championship series. If anyone is a racist, it is Spike Lee....but I guess that is ok...right Pgabrial? Just ole DaDakota trying to keep the black man down.... PUUUUHHHHLLLLLEEEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE !! DD
I knew I could bait you into saying, "Spike Lee is racist, Jesse Jackson is racist, Al Sharpton is racist, blah blah blah" Black man speaks out about race issues, DaDakota calls him racists. Par for the course. But I'm sure its just because of the Knicks.
Nah, That doesn't make him a racist, what makes him a racist is that he only hires black people to crew his movies. THAT makes him a racist.....the fact that he is doing exactly what people should NOT be doing. Ask yourself this question, what if Spielberg came out and said he would only hire a white crew....what do you think the outcry would be ???? They are both wrong.....doesn't matter what color your skin is....racism is racism.... But I am sure that is ok...right Pgabrial....the rules should only apply when it is convienient. DD
How about the fact that his last movie starred a white character played by Ed Norton. I guess that makes him racist also, dumbass.
