Better Call Paul

Kanye, OJ, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, Jesse Smollet: What do they have in common? Kendrick Lamar featured them all in his latest music video using deepfake technology. We’ll discuss the legality of that and whether or not he can be sued. Also, Disney takes $1B hit as it ends licensing to redirect to streaming. And lastly, Covid has officially caused more than 1M deaths in the US alone, but it’s also...

The box office is back with Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness raking in $190 million. The trickle down effects to the fully Disney Plus library is proving exponential. Also, Dave Chapelle was attacked during a comedy show and Olivia Wilde was served papers during Cinemacon. What is the process for protecting performers while they are on stage and what are the celebrity’s legal rights during perfo...

The future of Marvel. Our main topic this week is X-Men and Dr. Strange 2 and the immense IP crossover potential that exists between the Marvel Universe and Disney’s vast vault of characters. Paul gives a history lesson on Marvel’s sale of assets over the years and their bids to reacquire their most popular characters and what that means for the fans. Also we discuss the Johnny Depp libel lawsuit...

 A lot of drama in the streaming wars to discuss as Netflix’s stock plummets and CNN+ dissolves in a month. Also, Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard, his ex-wife, for defamation after she accused him of domestic abuse. Paul explains the different ways a defamation case can be litigated. How can people (and even podcasters) protect themselves financially and from today’s cancel culture? Learn more ab...

What do Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and a Russian Oligarch have in common? Château Miraval, the famed vineyard the couple owned together which has produced award-winning wine in recent years. Jolie reportedly claimed she could no longer be in business with her ex and sold her stake to Russian oligarch, Yuri Shefler. Pitt is now suing her citing he was denied approval as well as right of first refus...

Kanye West walked away from $8.5M when he pulled out as a headliner at Coachella and has been replaced by Swedish House Mafia and The Weekend. What does this mean for ticket holders who purchased based on his performance? And what recourse, if any, does Coachella have with him backing out? Also, Ketanji Brown Jackson makes history as the first African American woman confirmed to the Supreme Court....

In honor of the conclusion of awards season, we are launching the first annual Paulies! Highlighting the best in box office performance and how that contributes to a studio’s bottom line, best streaming service and what that means for IP, best M&A and what the impact is on taking down Netflix, and best overall legal argument. Also, Marvel took a big risk on Moon Knight launching with Oscar Isaac o...

This week on Better Call Paul, we discuss - the NFL signed long term agreements to distribute game coverage on TV, cable and digital platforms. It’s an unprecedented move to share rights across Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX and NBC and rumored to be worth $113B over 10 years. Moon Knight, coming out at the end of March on Disney+, is the first new Marvel character to be launched via streaming and is...

Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger has joined the board of Genies, a company that creates avatars to move through the metaverse. Celebrities have been promoting NFTs for a while now and are actively taking a bigger stand, but making a personal investment and taking a board seat makes a big statement. M&A is continuing to heat up in the streaming wars with Discovery and Warner Media combining force...

There’s been a constant stream of legal cases suing high profile artists: Dua Lipa has been sued TWICE by two separate groups for stealing the same song! Ed Sheeren has been accused for stealing parts of his 2017 hit Shape of You. Katy Perry won her appeal. Why does this keep happening? How difficult is it to win a copyright infringement case against an artist? Is it simply a money grab or is ther...

Unions are a hot topic this week. Even though Hollywood is a heavily unionized industry, Netflix canceled Nailed It! Haloween, a popular show in its seventh season, after crew members decided to walk off the set midseason in hopes of unionizing and re-negotiating their contracts. Rick and Morty's animators also protest for fairer pay and more rights in a lawsuit against Adult Swim. MLB is also in...

The Champions League Final was moved from Russia to Paris as a show of solidarity against the Russian government, but what goes into such a decision? Big sporting events are a well-choreographed set of negotiations involving everyone from the venue, to the international broadcast teams, to the global and local sponsors, to the fans and making last minute changes can throw any or all of those into...

Paul and Mesh break down the legal differences between aspiration and fraud. Sure Inventing Anna and the Tinder Swindler are popular today, but they are far from the exception. Paul and Mesh discuss how actor Zachary Horwitz was able to create a Ponzi Scheme that left more than 200 Hollywood investors stunned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this premiere episode of BETTER CALL PAUL, we dive into how things have changed since streaming platforms have entered the space and what this means for production companies, actors/actresses, and their compensation, and why these streaming services are now being sued. We also talk about the Olympics on Peacock and how that deal looks different now that everyone is pushing content to their subs...

BETTER CALL PAUL, the new podcast from Lola Media hosted by former Marvel entertainment lawyer Paul Sarker and entertainment enthusiast Mesh Lakhani will delve into the business and legal issues at play behind the glitz and glam. This show takes you beyond the catchy headlines to find out what’s really at play behind the scenes and gives you an introduction to the business side of show business. L...