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forget Spike Jones
Bandleader's son enters suit on Viacom's side
Viacom has found an ally in its courtroom fight against Spike Lee, and his name is ... Spike.
Spike Jones Jr., son of the late cornball Big Band musician, says he doesn't think the filmmaker should be allowed to prevent Viacom's TNN network from renaming itself Spike TV.
Meanwhile, TNN may not have to wait all summer to learn its fate. New York Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub offered yesterday to move up the trial, currently scheduled to begin Sept. 1, to July 7.
Lee must decide today whether to accept the offer. Viacom, which claims already to have lost $17 million as a result of postponing the name change, is all for it. In any case, Tolub says the trial will begin in August at the latest.
Jones has a personal interest in seeing Viacom prevail. He has already sold the rights to produce a movie and play based on his father's life. Both are tentatively titled "Spike."
In his career as a bandleader, Spike Jones Sr. was famous for spoof songs such as "Yes We Have No Bananas," "Der Fuhrer's Face" and "Don't Hit Your Grandma with a Shovel."
"I find it frightening that a court would allow Spike Lee to appropriate and acquire an exclusive (and free) ownership interest in the name 'Spike' in the television and entertainment field, preventing others with at least as legitimate an interest in using the name from doing so," said Jones in an affidavit.
He also said that, upon hearing of Spike TV, he never assumed that Lee was involved.
Tolub has indicated that his ruling in the case will hinge on whether Lee's side can prove that consumers will infer a relationship between the network, which is targeted at an audience of young males, and the filmmaker, whose credits include "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever." Both sides have already submitted conflicting expert testimony on the issue.
Viacom, which has failed twice in efforts to challenge the preliminary injunction imposed June 12, stands to score a small victory today.
Tolub will consider whether to increase the size of the $500,000 bail bond he ordered Lee to post to cover Viacom's damages and court costs should the ruling go in the conglomerate's favor.
Lee's given first name is Shelton. He is represented in the case by celebrity attorney Johnnie Cochran.
June 24, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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