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Harvey Weinstein has enlisted a group of civil rights leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson in his battle with Warner Bros. over the use of the title The Butler even as the title itself enters arbitration.
Jackson was joined by NAACP president and CEO Ben Jealous and Roy Innis, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, in throwing their support behind Weinstein and the Lee Daniels-directed film.
ANALYSIS: The ‘Butler’ Fight: Harvey Weinstein’s Mixed Track Record in His MPAA Feuds
“We are all watching and waiting for the results of today’s arbitration and hoping that Warner Bros. and the MPAA make the right decision on this important movie about civil rights,” the three said in a statement.
The Weinstein Co. has been embroiled in a war with Warners over the title, which is the name of a silent-era short belonging to Warners.
The Weinstein Co. is making another bid today to secure the title for its upcoming movie, as an appeal hearing of the MPAA’s Title Registration Bureau is underway. The hearing, which started at 1 p.m. ET, has just paused for recess. Previous rulings have gone Warners’ way.
E-mail: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com
Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27
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