Fuskie,

Litigation certainly is a cost of doing business, but you misunderstand the true meaning of that phrase.

Litigation can be justified as a cost when unforeseen issues that are bound to happen actually happen. It's only a matter of time before a business is sued if it is successful. Or, if you are a very successful screenwriter, it is only a matter of time before you are sued for plagiarism. You don't do anything that could cause it, but it just happens because you become a target virtue of success.

In this case, Disney and other studios open themselves up to litigation simply by promising talent the moon and not delivering it. It's a bait and switch tactic that is purposely done. Disney should pay up if that's the deal it makes, not try to obfuscate wrong doing.

If studios didn't offer profit participation, this wouldn't happen. Just my opinion, of course, but when you think about it, this isn't like an accident at Disneyland. It unfortunately is studio accounting and studio promises as far as distribution is concerned.