MICHAEL JACKSON - NEDERLANDER HOPEFUL FOR SPEEDY THRILLER SETTLEMENT

NEDERLANDER HOPEFUL FOR SPEEDY THRILLER SETTLEMENT

Theatre impressario JAMES NEDERLANDER is "confident" a lawsuit involving former collaborator MICHAEL JACKSON and THRILLER video director JOHN LANDIS will be settled amicably. Landis filed suit against Jackson in Los Angeles last week (ends23Jan09), claiming he's owed royalties cash for his work on the iconic promo and related spin-offs.
In his suit, the moviemaker alleges he has a deal in place with the superstar, which entitles him to 50 per cent of the net profits from the video and related material.
Nederlander is also named in the legal papers - because Jackson has reportedly sold the rights to the promo to executives at Nederlander Organization, who plan to turn Thriller into a Broadway spectacular.
But the Broadway producer is hopeful of a swift conclusion to the case.
In a statement released on Thursday (29Jan09), he says, "I'm confident that these past differences can be worked out."