SpotCo Sues Scott Rudin

[jonah3500]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 7:03pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/theater/scott-rudin-spotco-broadway-lawsuit.html

Im not at all surprised if this is true.

[Fetus]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 7:06pm

Bleed him dry

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 7:07pm

Just saw this. Considering how long he's been doing business with them I'm surprised to see it get to this point.

$6.3M is a crazy number!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 7:21pm

Hope they bankrupt him. 

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 9:49pm

DiscoCrows said: "Just saw this. Considering how long he's been doing business with them I'm surprised to see it get to this point.

$6.3M is a crazy number!"

$6.3M is a lot of money for sure, but it's ot crazy money when you consider that Rudin does on average several shows a year and spends more on marketing than most producers. I bet Dolly's ad spend alone was several million.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 10:19pm

He is odious in any number of ways, and this is inexcusable, but it will not bleed him dry, or bankrupt him. I would say it would damage his reputation but this IS his reputation. 

[jonah3500]

Posted: 8/7/20 at 11:09pm

The lawsuit:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=DGjwcdE8yql8qbS_PLUS_ZNad0g==

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 1:03am

jonah3500 said: "The lawsuit:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=DGjwcdE8yql8qbS_PLUS_ZNad0g=="

Just read the full text--wow! Gives a lot of insight into the hectic way he operates his business. What a terrible, shady man.

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 8:59am

Why do people want to "bleed him dry". Doesn't he help mount and create all the shows people on here love? Without him, there wouldn't have been:

Hello Dolly
Mockingbird. 

WSS
inheritance
Ferryman
Humans
view from the bridge
Curious incident
Raisin in the sun

cat on a hot tin roof
one man 2 guvners
MF with a hat

Mormon
God of Carnage
GYPSY
History Boys
DOUBT
caroline or Change

And on and on and on. (those are like half of the shows he has produced)
 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 9:01am

An oral contract??? 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 9:28am

We are very lucky to see some of the great productions he makes possible. But he isn’t a good man, and he shouldn’t get away with this crap just because he’s produced some great theatre.

On another note, once saw him at the Time Warner Center in the bathrooms. He didn’t wash his hands.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 10:07am

Sort of like Garth Drabinsky. Remember we saw a show of his where we saw his Gestapo type rules. My wife had her thyroid removed years ago .The surgery permanently affected her salivary glands. As a result she always carried a small disposable bottle of water with her as she had a tendency to cough because of it..All bags women carried were searched before you went in .We tried in vain to plead our case when they told us no water ..Mr Rudin apparently did not want any noise at all during the show.

.
We were than told if you left your seat to go to the bathroom you would not be let back in until the intermission . Apparently the sound of coughing was preferable to going back to their seat. .We than avoided any show that was billed as a Scott Rudin production .

[jonah3500]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 10:13am

Using the suit and the SEC website, one can find the capitalizations for all of the shows being sued, as the suit lists the limited liability companies running each show. A quick search for those on the SEC website will give you a document with their capitalization.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 10:15am

I agree with @iluvtheatretrash. 

From an audience perspective, Rudin is invaluable to Broadway. He is one of the few commercial producers who regularly takes risks on projects with artistic promise, despite not being surefire hits. He never fails to assemble impressive teams of artists to elevate his shows. And in fact, his refined taste, and his keen ability to match artists with material, makes him one of the few producers who I'd consider something of an artist himself. 

BUT, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be held accountable for his actions. Neglecting to pay people is awful, and I'm glad he's being taken to court over it. Personally, I do NOT hope that they bleed him dry. I hope he ponies up, then continues to produce on Broadway with more moral practices. 

 

Updated On: 8/8/20 at 10:15 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 10:30am

Rudin is also infamously abusive to those working for him. Has been for decades. Fictionalized accounts of his abuse have made it into plays (see: Leslye Headland's ASSISTANCE) and been reported on extensively. Anyone who even interviews for a job at his office is warned in explicit terms that you will suffer abuse.

He is overdue a major reckoning. I don't care what great works he has enabled with his fortune, taste, or influence.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 11:16am

a few things:

1. Oral contract. Yes as well as implied in fact, quantum meruit, and several other theories of liability. 

2. Garth Drabinsky. Not comparable. He was/is a fraudster; Rudin is merely alleged to be a deadbeat (as it relates to the lawsuit). 

3. Being held accountable. Yes he should be and will be by the lawsuit. It is possible to be a deadbeat without committing a crime in America. It should be noted that his being a deadbeat is an established part of the parties' course of dealing. Not cool but up until recently Spotco obviously saw the balance weighing in favor of continuing the relationship. (And in the 21st Century, with advertising expenditures sharply reduced, especially for print, Rudin's (some think) insane continued spending, especially at the Times, has been a big deal. 

4. Abuse. Yes and as I said before odious and inexcusable. But that's not really on the agenda of this lawsuit. (And we should note that the reported abuse is not of the Weinstein sort, not that that excuses it in any way. And we should also note that the lawsuit relates yet another form of abuse: anyone who has done business with the ogre is familiar with the torrent of emails and calls, at all hours of the day and night.  

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 12:20pm

I wonder if all the media suppliers have been paid? I’m guessing they would also be screaming for their monies. Right? I can’t imagine that SpotCo fronted all this money. That’s not how it works! Hmmm.

[Tag]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 1:08pm

BdwyFan said: "I wonder if all the media suppliers have been paid? I’m guessing they would also be screaming for their monies. Right? I can’t imagine that SpotCo fronted all this money. That’s not how it works! Hmmm."

Read the NYT article.

[Dionysus3]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 8:14pm

You, quite simply, love to see it.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 8:20pm

It always turns my stomach when SOMEONE commits a transgression of some form or another and EVERY time someone trots out the "But they did this work or that work or that work" to try to shame the person calling the offender to task. 

Every.

Single.

Time.

The older I get, the more I have a visceral reaction.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 9:34pm

JBroadway said: "I agree with @iluvtheatretrash.

From an audience perspective, Rudin is invaluable to Broadway. He is one of the few commercial producers who regularlytakes risks on projects withartistic promise, despite not being surefire hits. He never fails to assemble impressive teams of artists to elevate his shows. And in fact, his refined taste, and his keen ability to match artists with material,makes him one of the few producers who I'd consider something of an artist himself.

BUT, that doesn't mean he shouldn't be held accountable for his actions. Neglecting to pay people is awful, and I'm glad he's being taken to court over it. Personally, I do NOT hope that they bleed him dry. I hope he ponies up, then continues to produce on Broadway with more moral practices.

"

Really well worded, I absolutely agree. To respond to broadwayguy2, I totally get what you mean but based on my understanding of this discussion I don't think people are at all trying to shame anyone else, ala SpotCo or any members here rightfully defending them, in light of discussions about Rudin's very evident contributions to the commercial theatre. In tandem, I don't think that all excuses or takes away from the arguably poor moral practices he is known for and in turn, the many controversies and consequences he has found himself subject to over the years. I think in a situation like this both are completely independent of one another and it's important to recognize each side of that.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/8/20 at 10:10pm

Play Esq. said: "An oral contract??? ??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️"

 

Yeah, I wondered about that also. Asked a friend in the business and he said it happens all the time when there is a long relationship like they have.

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/9/20 at 12:03am

re contracts, not worth expending energy on this subject. First of all, although the complaint lists every possible theory, as it should, the simplest version of what happens in this relationship is likely treated as an implied contract. If I call you up or email you or text your etc and tell you to do something on my behalf, there is an implied contract that I will pay you for what you ordered. Just like if I call the Chinese place around the corner and order a large General Tso's Chicken, I have implied that I will pay for it. etc etc etc And yes a lot of things are done in this business without written contracts. There is a fascinating story about McDonald's way of doing business. Most McDonald's french fries are bought from a company called J R Simplot which more or less invented the way McDonald's fries are frozen. As one can imagine, that's a lot of french fries. As a result, Simplot built facilities for the sole purpose of processing McDonald's fries. Never was there a contract between the two companies other than the implied contract to pay for what was ordered. 

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/9/20 at 8:55am

BWYguy2. I didn't excuse him for any transgression. go back and read my post. 

I asked why people wanted to "bleed him dry".
RUDIN (allegedly) owes $6.3 million to a marketing company. He will either settle or have his day in court. He didn't rape, kill, molest, kidnap, torture, etc anyone. Cancel culture is alive and well on the BWW board today. He will either pay his fine or not or settle. 
The man should be "BLED DRY" for this? Please. He is worth some $250 million dollars.  SO first. off, this won't hurt him a bit if it happens to be true that he owes this money.
Secondly, He pays his actors, directors, creatives, theater rent etc. Because of this (alleged) transgression he needs to be BLED DRY after being in the business for 30 years, producing some of the best movies in hollywood and best shows on broadway?

Calm down. 

Updated On: 8/9/20 at 08:55 AM

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 8/9/20 at 12:14pm

massofmen said: "BWYguy2. I didn't excuse him for any transgression. go back and read my post.

I asked why people wanted to "bleed him dry".
RUDIN (allegedly) owes $6.3 million to a marketing company. He will either settle or have his day in court. He didn't rape, kill, molest, kidnap, torture, etc anyone. Cancel culture is alive and well on the BWW board today. He will either pay his fine or not or settle.
The man should be "BLED DRY" for this? Please. He is worth some $250 million dollars. SO first. off, this won't hurt him a bit if it happens to be true that he owes this money.
Secondly,He pays his actors, directors, creatives, theater rent etc. Because of this (alleged) transgression he needs to be BLED DRY after being in the business for 30 years, producing some of the best movies in hollywood and best shows on broadway?

Calm down."

He pays the actors and the theaters because he won't have a show if he doesn't. He doesn't pay his vendors and investors because he's a powerful bully who can get away with it.