SETTING: It is May 17, 2014 in JEFF FELDMAN's office in Los Angeles, USA. DALLAS, MICHAEL, and TONY have just walked into the office and LARRY HARMON is seated across from JEFF.
DALLAS FLEMING
What's this, Jeff? Why is the filthy bastard here? Are we about to get screwed again?
TONY SHERWOOD
Come on, Jeff. This is absurd. I don't want to be in the same room with him.
LARRY HARMON
Why, that can't possibly be Tony Sherwood. I don't smell any dried urine or vomit. And your eyes! The whites of your eyes are actually white! No. That's not Tony.
(DALLAS lunges toward LARRY and is stopped by MICHAEL.)
DALLAS FLEMING
I will flatten you if you talk to him like that again!
LARRY HARMON
Whoa. The big Scotsman. Don't go breaking a knuckle on this pretty little face. You need to keep those fingers nimble and make me a big bundle of cash, my friend.
MICHAEL O'ROURKE
Guys, let's settle down. I'm sure Jeff has a good reason for the filthy bastard being here. Well, Jeff?
JEFF FELDMAN
Everybody sit down, shut up, and listen. This is going to get complicated.
LARRY HARMON
What's complicated? I've sat on their pile of trash for almost twenty years and finally see a payoff coming. There isn't anything complicated about that.
JEFF FELDMAN
All of you shut up and listen. On May 1st, Elly sang "My Song" on the show. As normal, we were charged a royalty that should have been paid to Larry. BMI called the other day and indicated that the royalty couldn't be paid.
LARRY HARMON
Baloney! Harmon Sound Company! I'll give you the bank routing number and you can start making the deposits now.
JEFF FELDMAN
Hang on, Larry. It appears that you are not the owner of "My Song."
LARRY HARMON
No way! I paid for everything these losers wrote! "My Song" is my song!
JEFF FELDMAN
You're sort of right, Larry. If you recall, Martin Sherwood played in a few other bands before the formation of Tollie Maxwell. He wrote "My Song" in 1988 and it was copyrighted, exclusively under his name. When Tollie Maxwell formed three years later, Tollie Productions was also formed. The band agreed that any songs written after that point would be deemed to have been written collectively. All four members would equally share the royalties through Tollie Productions.
MICHAEL O'ROURKE
Exactly. I remember that.
TONY SHERWOOD
YOU ARE READING
My Song
General FictionWhen a contestant from a weekly-televised American singing competition chooses an obscure song from the equally obscure British rock 'n' roll band, Tollie Maxwell, her rendition becomes an international hit. The surviving members of the band find t...
