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Robert F. Marshall

Robert Marshall represents an array of leading actors, directors, writers, producers, financiers and production companies for motion pictures, television and other media.

Bob is one of the nation’s leading entertainment and media attorneys, and has been honored as one of Southern California’s Super Lawyers by Los Angeles Magazine and Law and Politics. He has represented many noteworthy individual and corporate clients in complex entertainment talent and financial transactions over the course of his career, including Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Andie MacDowell, Roseanne Barr, Lawrence Kasdan, James Cameron, Joel Silver, Oliver Stone, Dustin Hoffman, Mike Nichols, Sam Shepard, United Artists, Mitsui & Co. (Ltd), Damon Wayans, The World Boxing Council, Open Road Films and Dark Castle Entertainment.

Bob is also one of a few entertainment transactional lawyers that has also handled a number of high profile litigation matters in the entertainment industry, including cases on behalf of the Beatles, author Mario Puzo, comedian Paul Rodriguez, and director Oliver Stone.

Bob has also appeared on screen as an actor in various motion pictures, including “JFK,” “Heaven and Earth,” and “Nixon.”

Awards

  • Rated, "AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5," Martindale Hubbell

Bar Admissions

  • California

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles  (J.D.)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara  (B.A.)

Entertainment Transactions

  • Negotiated agreements for Lawrence Kasdan to direct and produce the motion picture “Dreamcatcher” for Castle Rock based on a Stephen King book; also represented Mr. Kasdan in negotiations with the Walt Disney Company for a multipicture overall motion picture directing and producing agreement, and in many other transactions, including his most recent movie, "Darling Companion"
  • Represented James Cameron in connection with his directing and producing agreement for the hugely successful and award winning 3D motion picture, “Avatar”
  • Represented Phillip Seymour Hoffman in connection with numerous motion picture projects, including “Capote,” “Mission Impossible 3,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” "Moneyball" and "Ides of March"
  • Represented Mr. Hoffman's company, Cooper's Town Productions, in connection with overall production agreements with HBO and CBS
  • Represented Joel Silver in connection with numerous motion picture and television projects, including “Demolition Man,” “Lethal Weapon,” “Conspiracy Theory,” “The Matrix,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “Tales From the Crypt,” “Speed Racer,” "Sherlock Holmes, and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
  • Represented Tom Cruise in connection with various motion picture projects, including “Mission Impossible,” “Mission Impossible 2,” “Mission Impossible 3,” "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and “Valkyrie,” among others
  • Represented Tom Cruise in connection with his agreement to become a significant owner of United Artists
  • Represented United Artists in connection with a $500 million, 15 picture slate structured financing transaction with numerous lenders and financial institutions
  • Represented Joel Silver and his company, Dark Castle Entertainment, in connection with a $250 million, 15 picture film slate financing arrangement with a number of lenders and financial institutions, including CIT Financial, and distributor Warner Bros.
  • Represented Open Road Films in connection with strategic planning and various entertainment transactions, including distribution agreements for recent releases "Killer Elite" and "The Grey"
  • Represented Andie MacDowell in contract negotiations for numerous movies, including "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Michael," and in connection with her modeling contracts with L’Oreal
  • Represented Oliver Stone in contract negotiations and handled production legal services for a number of motion pictures produced and directed by Mr. Stone, including “Platoon,” "Wall Street," "JFK," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Natural Born Killers" and "Nixon"
  • Represented Damon Wayans in connection with the agreement for his services on the television program “My Wife and Kids”
  • Represented Roseanne Barr in contract negotiations for a reality based television series on ABC entitled “The Real Roseanne”
  • Negotiated agreements for Mike Nichols to direct and produce “Angels In America” for HBO, and many other agreements for Mr. Nichol’s directing services

Entertainment Litigation

  • Represented The Beatles in an action against the producers of "Beatlemania" for invasion of publicity rights in performance, name and likeness; the case was tried in a six-week trial in which a precedent-shattering multimillion dollar judgment was awarded to the Beatles
  • Represented Mario Puzo in obtaining an injunction against Warner Brothers paying any "Superman" proceeds out of the country to the producer of the film; successfully collected Puzo’s gross participation plus attorneys’ fees
  • Represented Oliver Stone in successful litigation with Dino DeLaurentiis to recapture all rights in the script and literary material for the motion picture “Platoon”
Practice Areas
Entertainment Law