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Here's Why This Major Studio Once Sued A 10-Year-Old Soleil Moon Frye For $80 Million

As everyone already knows, youngsters make up a large portion of everyday society. As a end result, presentations and movies which might be designed to enchantment to kids are an equally huge part of the tv landscape. In truth, since parents generally tend to observe shows and tv alongside their children, family-friendly content material makes up an arguably oversized a part of the leisure global.

In order to produce content for the entire relatives, television networks and movie studios frequently rent child actors. Sadly, it is vitally common wisdom that a ways too many former child stars go on to have serious troubles with the law. On top of that, a lot of former child stars have also gone on to feud with their parents in in point of fact public ways. With all of that during mind, it could be nice if the networks and studios made sure to do everything they might to present kid stars a good revel in. However, during the 80s, a major studio made the stunning decision to sue a then 10-year-old Soleil Moon Frye for $80 million instead.

Related: 20 Former Disney Stars Who Got In Trouble With The Law

'Punky Brewster' Is A Sitcom That Passed The Test Of Time

As is the case with each decade, during the 1980s a number of sitcoms controlled to accumulate loyal fan followings. In reality, such a lot of shows from that decade were successful that most people have utterly forgotten that a lot of them ever existed in the first position. On the other hand, there has all the time been one thing about Punky Brewster that caught with people.

For proof of Punky Brewster’s popularity all over the display’s heyday, all you must do is take a look at the truth that multiple display concerning the persona was in production at the identical time. After all, between airing on NBC and new episodes being produced for syndication, Punky Brewster aired from 1984 to 1988. Amazingly enough, from 1985 till 1986, an animated spin-off of the display known as It's Punky Brewster also aired on NBC. It would not be an overstatement to mention that more or less factor is terribly rare, to say the very least.

In addition to there being two other presentations that starred Soleil Moon Frye right through the 80s, Punky Brewster also was revived in 2021. Produced for the Peacock streaming carrier, 2021’s revival that still used to be titled Punky Brewster was canceled after only one 10 episode season. Still, it's superb that the show used to be brought back in any respect and that speaks to the franchise’s lasting legacy.

Related: Here's Why The Original 'Punky Brewster' Was Canceled

Columbia Pictures Television Sued A 10-Year-Old Soleil Moon Frye

During the first two seasons of Punky Brewster, the display was once produced via NBC Productions. Before the filming of the display’s third season, then again, a deal was once brokered and Columbia Pictures took over the manufacturing of the show. Evidently now not in need of to big name in the popular sitcom, Punky Brewster famous person Soleil Moon Frye made the wonder determination to not report to work when filming of the show’s third season was set to start out.

According to an Associated Press report that seemed in a 1986 version of the Rome News-Tribune, Columbia Pictures Television sued Soleil Moon Frye for $80 million after she halted production. In their courtroom filing, Columbia Pictures argued that “the girl works for the production company because it bought a 20-year license from NBC in April to syndicate the 44 episodes already proven on the community and produce a minimum of forty extra episodes”.

Related: 10 High Profile Celebrity Lawsuits You Completely Forgot About

Of route, Soleil Moon Frye and her representatives had their own take at the state of affairs which her attorneys argued in court docket. “Miss Frye’s legal professional Dennis Ardi has informed Columbia that his shopper isn’t required to perform in a show not produced by the network which signed a contract along with her in 1984.” When Columbia Pictures Television filed suit against Soleil Moon Frye, additionally they sought “a brief restraining order that may have prohibited Miss Frye from working for anyone however the production company until the dispute is resolved.” However, Superior Court Judge Jack Newman refused that request.

Ultimately, the lawsuit Columbia Pictures filed against Soleil Moon Frye didn’t result within the 10-year-old actor being pressured to pay them tens of millions of greenbacks. Instead, cooler heads ultimately prevailed and Frye returned to set and portrayed Punky Brewster’s titular personality for another two seasons. Of path, it nonetheless is fantastic that a major studio like Columbia Pictures was once keen to sue a 10-year-old kid. In this day and age, that roughly tale would virtually unquestionably lead to such a lot unhealthy press and anger on social media that no studio would want to have anything else to do with a lawsuit like that. In overall fairness to Columbia Pictures, since they spent millions on the rights to Punky Brewster handiest to have the show’s megastar walk, they had been in a no-win situation.

Next: How Much Is 90s Actress Soleil Moon Frye Worth Today?

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Jenniffer Sheldon

Update: 2024-05-05