Shandling Plea to Delay Trial for Film Denied

Comedian Garry Shandling and Columbia Pictures failed to persuade a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Friday to postpone his breach-of-contract trial against former manager Brad Grey so Shandling could finish a film for the studio.

But a lawyer for Shandling, William Isaacson, said Shandling and the studio plan to work around the trial schedule to finish the film, “What Planet Are You From?,” directed by Mike Nichols.

That could include shooting at nights and during off hours, and on days Shandling isn’t required to be in court, he said. “We do not foresee any problems,” Columbia Pictures President Amy Pascal said. “Everyone is cooperating.”

Columbia has been facing a bind because the trial date is running up against the final weeks of the film, which is scheduled to wrap in early August. The trial being heard by Judge Ralph W. Dau is tentatively scheduled to start next week, although lawyers said it may be delayed briefly because of another case on Dau’s court calendar.

If shooting on the film has to stop, the delay could be costly for Columbia. It wouldn’t be covered by insurance in the same way as accidents are covered. Columbia conceivably could sue Shandling for causing the delay.

Shandling sued Grey last year for more than $100 million, alleging that his former friend and business partner improperly used his relationship with Shandling to benefit himself. Grey counter-sued for $10 million.

Isaacson criticized Grey for opposing efforts to postpone the trial, noting that Grey is an executive producer on the film.

But Grey lawyer Bert Fields said that Shandling has known about the trial date for months. “Now, five days before the trial, they come in and want to continue it?”

Sources said Shandling and his representatives had assured Sony Corp. when he first committed to star in the project that they were confident the judge would push back the court date.

Sources said that Grey sold the project to Sony about six years ago under a former production deal at the studio and by choice has had nothing to do with its production.