Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King are turning in their graves

Their children continue to argue, squabble, fight over money. This is sad all around.

Sure there are two, three even four sides to every story, but this fight is just too much. The latest row is that superstar director, Steven Speilberg wants to bring the life of MLK, Jr. to the screen, but the remaining King Kids (Yolanda has passed) are arguing over, the bottomline, MONEY.

DreamWorks Studios plans to tell the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s story on the big screen in a film to be co-produced by Steven Spielberg, the studio announced Tuesday.

The studio describes it as a monumental project — but two of King's children threatened legal action over the film deal because it was brokered without their blessing.

You mean to tell me that they detest each other so much, or that the two in Atlanta (Bernice and MLKIII), detest Dexter (in California) so much that they can not work together? They are not only sad, but poor examples left by their ledgendary parents.
Dexter King, one of the late civil rights leader's sons, said in a news release that he hoped the movie would "be the definitive film" on his father's legacy. Two other King siblings — Bernice King and Martin Luther King III — said they oppose the deal, which they say was brokered by Dexter without their input.

Dexter is the chairman and chief executive officer of King, Inc.

"This is a deal that Mr. Spielberg and his people ... have entered into believing that they have the blessing of The King Estate. They don't have the blessings of Bernice and Martin King," Bernice King told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Tuesday after finding out about the deal in an e-mail from Dexter King.

A spokesman for Dexter King did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday afternoon.

The three siblings have been involved in several legal disputes regarding their parents' intellectual property in the past year. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III have accused their brother of tarnishing their parents' legacy with his business decisions, and say he has been operating The King Estate for years without their input.

Martin Luther King III said the matter was typical of an ongoing pattern of exclusion.

"It's not that we are against a film," he said. "It's very interesting to me that a company would engage in a business arrangement knowing that there's severe controversy around many issues pertaining to the estate of Martin Luther King Jr."

Sigh, what has happened here? What?

This is very sad to read, but even more ghastly to see Martin Luther King, Jr.'s kids out for blood against each other. Greed is a powerful emotion, it is up there with love and hate. You mean to tell me that they don't have enough love for one another to work it out? A truly, sad list of events.

The ongoing battles are:

King Family Feud
Fighting over Coretta book deal
Still in the courts, fighting
Losing money, because they are fighting each other
Just a shame
Cashing in on King
Jonathan Turley
The list is endless

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