2/27 – Earlier this month the LA Superior Court denied Variety magazine’s motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit brought against it by director Francis Ford Coppola. Judge Christopher Lui found that statements made in the article, such as a claim that Coppola allegedly “kept leaping up to hug and kiss several women” and that he ruined a scene by inserting himself into the shot, could be construed as defamatory and damaging to Coppola’s reputation. The court did hold, however, that Coppola’s contention that reporting that the film lacked human resources oversight defamed him should be dismissed.