Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan Sued Over Marked Video

Billy Corgan Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan found himself on the receiving end of a breach of contract lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday (May 22), accusing the singer of stealing and allowing the commercial release of a video/documentary from 1986 entitled Video Marked.

Jonathan Morrill, owner of J.M. Productions, is alleging that Corgan stayed at his apartment in St. Petersburg, Fla. in 1986, at which time Morrill created a video/documentary of Corgan's pre-Pumpkins outfit, the Marked. Morrill claims only two copies of the video were made, a master and a backup, the latter of which he hasn't seen since Corgan's stay in 1986. The suit alleges Corgan "purloined the backup copy of Video Marked without permission or authorization." Video Marked, according to Morrill, was the express and exclusive property of Morrill and J.M. Productions.

In conjunction with the Smashing Pumpkins' 1994 B-sides compilation Pisces Iscariot, a video compilation, Vieuphoria was also released, unbeknownst to Morrill. Later, in 1996, Morrill claims to have approached Corgan about the possibility of releasing Video Marked and Corgan replied by stating "he did not wish for the old materials to be released and cited audio quality as a particular reason."

In 1999, Morrill, upon realizing Vieuphoria had been commercially released, allegedly discovered that it contained a substantial amount of work lifted directly from Video Marked uncredited to him or his production company. The suit reads, in part, "Vieuphoria is sold, distributed, and advertised, in part, based on exclusive materials lifted from Video Marked and Vieuphoria expressly refers to 'super secret super special extra stuff shot by the band'" which refers to Video Marked.

Morrill is suing Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins, Virgin Records America, and Modivational Films for breach of contract, breach of confidence, fraud and deceit, negligent misrepresentation, declaratory relief, constructive trust, and injunctive relief.

Lisa Marie Presley, Billy Corgan Collaborating, Producer Says Smashing Pumpkins frontman co-writing song for her debut album.

Staff Writer Teri van Horn reports:

Lisa Marie Presley is co-writing a song with Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan for her debut album, according to the LP's producer, Glen Ballard.

The daughter of the King is two-thirds finished with the LP, which Ballard promises will bring "modern-day Memphis" to the pop scene.

"I think it's a wonderful expression from a [woman] who's carving her own identity as an artist while still embracing the format that's in her genes," said the producer, who is best known for his work with Canadian singer Alanis Morissette.

The album falls in "the pop format, with elements of blues, funk, R&B and hip-hop," he said.

Ballard said Elvis' legacy hasn't added a stress factor to the project. "As long as she's not as intimidated by it, I'm not. And I don't think she is."

Presley also has co-written with Ballard and Cliff Magnuss (Kenny Rogers) for the LP. The collaboration with Corgan came out of the two singers' friendship, Ballard said. The album is not expected until late this year at the earliest.

Tuesday (May 23), Corgan announced the Smashing Pumpkins will disband before year's end.

[ Tues., May 23, 2000 10:05 PM EDT ]

Smashing Pumpkins Breaking Up, Billy Corgan Says

Singer/guitarist says band hopes to stage farewell U.S. tour before packing it in at end of year.

Senior Writer Chris Nelson reports:

The Smashing Pumpkins said on Tuesday (May 23) they will break up at the end of the year, closing the door on an 11-year, seemingly cursed career that often found the band running counter to industry trends as they carried a torch for conceptual, artful rock.

"There's nothing wrong inside the band," founder and singer/guitarist Billy Corgan said on Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM. "But the way the culture is and stuff, it's hard to keep trying to fight the good fight against the Britneys," he said, referring to Britney Spears and other teen pop sensations.

The band is on the West Coast leg of a U.S. tour that ends May 30. They play the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., on Tuesday. They are scheduled to spend the second half of June on a tour of Japan.

Corgan said the band hopes to stage a farewell U.S. trek before year's end.

He added that the group knew before they released MACHINA/the machines of God on Feb. 29 that it would be their last album before breaking up, but did not announce it for fear the news would overshadow the music.

"I feel like a weight's been lifted off our shoulders," Corgan told KROQ.

He called the band's decision to forge a career pursuing challenging music "exhilarating" but "wearying."

"It will be nice to let the music be now," he told the station.

In addition, there will be more music from the Pumpkins, Corgan said. The band has several songs left over from the recording of MACHINA/the machines of God that they plan to finish this summer and release with additional material. But he said he didn't know whether they would come out before year's end or "two years from now."

The band also will tape a session of "VH1 Storytellers" in August, he said.

Crack Charges Dropped After Ex-Pumpkins Bassist Completes Drug Classes

Charges against former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy Wretzky for possession of crack cocaine were dropped Friday (May 19) following her completion of a court-ordered drug prevention class.

Wretzky, 32, did not appear in Cook County District Court for the hearing, Jodee Fallon, a spokesperson for the Cook County, Ill., State's Attorney's office, said.

In February, Judge Nicholas Ford gave the bassist just more than three months to attend four drug-abuse prevention classes as part of a program offered to first-time offenders in lieu of a trial.

Wretzky maintained her innocence after that hearing. "I didn't do it," she said at the time. "I gave somebody a ride. That was it."

Her lawyer, Richard Brzeczek, said on Friday that he had not spoken to Wretzky since the February hearing and was not required to be in court because the classes were completed. He said he did not know when she finished the course, or where it took place.

Wretzky, who quit the Smashing Pumpkins in September, was arrested at 2:30 a.m. Jan. 25. She was accused of buying a third of a gram of crack cocaine from a housing complex on West Lake Street.

An officer dressed in street clothes watched Wretzky enter a car carrying two other people, police have said. The car then drove away with the headlights off and allegedly made several traffic violations, including two illegal U-turns.

Police said they found the drugs in three plastic bags in the pocket of the driver, identified as Tony Young, but that Wretzky claimed that the bags were hers.

Wretzky, a founding member of the superstar rock band, reportedly quit to begin a film career. She was replaced by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur.

Manson, Reznor Mend Fences; NIN Cancels Show

(an excerpt from the article)

In the video, Reznor takes a date (Manson in drag) to a bizarro carnival, where the NIN frontman strolls through the midway, eventually stopping to toss baseballs at plates adorned with the faces of such stars as Fred Durst, Billy Corgan, Michael Stipe, and even Manson himself.

"We remember a phase where every time you opened up 'Rolling Stone,' there's a picture of Michael Stipe popping out of somebody's underpants, and then it was Billy Corgan everywhere," Reznor said.

To Read the entire article click here.

A wait-and-see policy was voiced by Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. "It's a waste of time to go after (Napster), because you're not going to be able to stop free trade on the Internet. Everybody should stop wringing their hands about it.

"It's going to take two or three years to sort itself out," said Corgan. "It's going to be the future, but we'll eventually have to figure out a system that gives the artist some copyright payment. I believe it's hurting record sales, but it's also doing what it's supposed to do -- building new fans."

Read the entire article by click here.

We're sure you've been wondering what D'Arcy Wretzky has been up to since her court date for possession of crack cocaine last Valentine's Day. She has been religiously attending her four drug abuse prevention classes as ordered by Cook County District Court Judge Nicholas Ford, but that doesn't mean that she's not having a little fun. The former Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'Arcy Wretzky is currently keeping company with Hollywood's plastic surgery pin-up boy, Mickey Rourke. The newish duo have been spotted around Los Angeles holding hands and window shopping on Melrose Ave. D'Arcy's pals say that the former 9½ Weeks' star has got the actress-cum-musician (who turns 32 on May 1) hooked on plastic surgery too. She's had her beautiful heart-shaped face altered in ways that were totally unnecessary…

The Nine Inch Nails video for "Starfuckers, Inc." that nothing Records has been trying to keep hush-hush for the past month debuted on MTV on Tuesday (May 2) featuring all the goodies that we told you about (allstar, April 24) and then some.

The clip, which credits Robert Hales (former Art Director for Raygun magazine) as director at the front of the clip and then Marilyn Manson at the end of the clip, entails singer Trent Reznor going on a date to a carnival with a person, who isn't revealed until the end of the clip. The person, of course, is his former best friend and protégé-turned-rival and back-full-circle to partner-in-crime, Marilyn Manson.

The video opens with a view of a road similar to the opening of the movie Lost Highway, which features a soundtrack produced by Reznor. In the video, Reznor is first shown in the back of a limousine with tubes in his nose and wearing blue eye makeup like a mask (and also similar to how Manson's done his shadow many times in the past), with Manson disguised in a blonde wig. They show a poster of Pamela Anderson Lee and Donna D'Errico on their way to the carnival and paparazzi outside of the limo.

During the carnival, Reznor trys his hand at the game where you throw a baseball at a plate and try to smash the plate. On the plates in the video are the faces of Marilyn Manson, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Kiss' Gene Simmons, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, and Mariah Carey. He also throws balls at busts of people -- one of which is of Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan (wearing a Zero shirt), and another is of Reznor himself...

Read On