Beatty to be quizzed on video in Tribune suit

Actor Warren Beatty must answer questions in front of a camera as part of his court battle with Tribune Co. over television and movie rights to comic-strip detective Dick Tracy, a judge ruled.

Beatty's concern that the deposition might show up on the Internet isn't a good enough reason to avoid videotaping it, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey said today in Wilmington, Delaware. He ordered the two sides to work out an agreement for keeping the video portion of the testimony private.

Gregg Galardi, Beatty's lawyer, told the judge it's difficult to keep anything private, citing his work on behalf of commercial lender CIT Group Inc.

As CIT sought to avoid bankruptcy in the last several days, information appeared in the media "almost instantaneously," said Galardi, of the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

The actor sought to limit his pretrial statements to a written transcript that Carey could use to decide whether to allow the lawsuit to move forward. Beatty's lawsuit was put on hold after Chicago-based Tribune filed bankruptcy.

Beatty, 72, produced and starred in Walt Disney Co.'s 1990 movie “Dick Tracy.” Tribune, owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, filed for bankruptcy in December to restructure $13 billion in debt.

Court Battles

Tribune first sued Beatty in 2005 to try to recover rights to Tracy. In that and more recent court battles, Beatty has said Tribune has no legal grounds to reclaim the rights to Tracy.

In a June 9 court filing, Beatty said he met the terms of a 1985 contract with Tribune by making that movie and a Tracy television special.

Beatty's November suit against Tribune in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles was automatically halted when Tribune filed bankruptcy. Beatty is scheduled to give a deposition related to his attempt to restart his lawsuit.

Galardi argued that a videotape is unnecessary because the deposition is limited and wouldn't be seen by a jury and because it would invade Beatty's privacy, his lawyers claimed.

Tribune attorney Michael Doss disagreed, arguing that some parts of a videotaped deposition might be useful in future court proceedings.

The case is In re Tribune Co., 08-13141, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).