Names and faces

Friday, December 20, 2013

Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson - suspended from the series indefinitely after making disparaging remarks about homosexuals - is getting some support from key followers. Sarah Palin posted a picture on her Facebook page of her with the reality show clan with the message, “Free Speech is an endangered species.” And Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also lamented the suspension on free-speech terms. A&E announced Wednesday what it called a “hiatus” for Robertson, 67, after he disparaged gays in the January edition of GQ magazine. He also said that, growing up in Louisiana before the civil-rights movement, he never saw mistreatment of blacks. In a statement, A&E said it was extremely disappointed to see Robertson’s anti-gay remarks, which it said were based on his personal beliefs and do not reflect those of A&E Networks or the show. A&E Networks, a joint venture of The Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Corp., called itself a supporter of the homosexual community. The channel’s move was lauded by the gay advocacy group GLAAD, which had quickly condemned Robertson’s comments. Robertson and his extended family became wealthy manufacturing duck calls and were turned into TV and pop culture stars by Duck Dynasty, which has set cable ratings records for a nonfiction series. Several family members appeared in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Robertson and his family had no comment about his hiatus, A&E said on their behalf.

The creator of The Walking Dead is suingAMC over what he claims is an effort to deny him tens of millions of dollars in profit from the hit drama.

Oscar-nominated writer-director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) and Creative Arts Agency filed suit Tuesday in New York Supreme Court against defendants including AMC Network Entertainment LLC. Their suit claims that despite four seasons of “unprecedented programming success and profitability” for the defendants, Darabont hasn’t received any profits for developing the series. AMC declined Wednesday to comment on the suit, which also alleges that Darabont was fired as producer without cause. He developed The Walking Dead from Robert Kirkman’s comic book series about zombies.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 12/20/2013