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Welcome to the TradeVine March 11th, 2011.

Hello everybody, I’m Yi Tian of the Actors Reporter and welcome to the TradeVine. I’m standing in for Danika Quinn who is in Boston shooting today. We have some great articles this week. We found those articles which will be most beneficial and informative. Our goal here at the TradeVine is to help you stay informed and to keep up with the trades, such as The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, and Backstage.

Hollywood Reporter, March 11, 2011. The article is entitled, “Charlie: The legal battle,” by Eriq Gardner and Matthew Belloni. As Warner Brothers and CBS prepare for war, the controversy over Charlie Sheen will almost certainly hinge on which side breeched the contract that pays Sheen more than 1.2 million dollars an episode. The question is: who is to blame for the implosion of America’s most-watched sitcom. Apparently, Sheen’s contract with Warner Brother’s TV does not contain a morals clause. Charlie Sheen’s lawyers claim that both Warner Brothers and CBS violated their obligations by allowing Chuck Lorre the co-creator of Two and a Half Men to shut down the show in the wake of Sheen’s outrageous statements and partying with porn stars. Sheen maintains he’s clean and sober and there’s nothing in his private life that would trigger a default under his contract. This may be the most watched legal battle since the O.J. trial.

Daily Variety, Monday, March 7th, “Puerto Rico ups film incentives,” by Rachel Abrams. Just as Michigan and New Mexico are proposing to slash their film incentives, Puerto Rico has wildly revamped its program to offer some of the U.S.’ most generous tax rebates. The new Puerto Rico legislation offers a 20% rebate for nonresidents in addition to the pre-existing 40% rebate for residents. The annual cap on incentives went from $15 million to $50 million. In addition, Puerto Rico reduced the budget required for productions down to $100,000 and expanded its list of eligible projects. So, Puerto Rico is positioning itself to take advantage of a changing playing field.

Daily Variety, Tuesday, March 8th, Charlie Sheen’s contract may not have had a morality clause but, according to an article entitled “A sobering move,” by Cynthia Littleton and Jon Weisman, it turns out Charlie Sheen’s contract did have an incapacity clause, which Warner Brothers used to formally notify Mr. Sheen of his termination on the “Two and a Half Men” series. The studio not only cited the incapacity clause for grounds for termination, but also a clause relating to moral turpitude. This, in addition to Charlie Sheen’s statements that he would no longer work with the co-creator and show-runner Chuck Lorre, was enough to say good-bye Charlie. As Sheen said this last week, “I am tired of pretending like I’m not special.”

Daily Variety, Wednesday, March 9, “Hollywood friend. Facebook offers pics,” by Marc Graser and Tom Lowry. Facebook may soon be making a lot more friends in Hollywood and enemies everywhere else. The social networking giant’s decision to pair up with Warner Brothers and start testing the rental of movies through each film’s separate fan-page in the U.S. beginning with “The Dark Knight,” sent shockwaves down Wall Street, causing Netflix’s stock to fall nearly 6%. Companies like Netflix, but also Redbox, Google’s YouTube, Amazon, Walmart’s Vudu and Best Buy’s CinemaNow have reason to feel spooked. Facebook’s first foray into monetizing movies and other video programming across its sites could seriously shake up the current state of the digital entertainment biz.

Well, that’s it for the TradeVine this week. I’m Yi Tian. Thank you very much for watching. And remember, You heard it through the Tradevine!