Smart Family Hires Entertainment Lawyer

CBS News ^

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Smart Family Hires Entertainment Lawyer

SALT LAKE CITY, April 5, 2003

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Elizabeth Smart with her father, Ed (AP/Deseret News, Tom Smart) Elizabeth with her parents Lois and Ed (AP Photo/Deseret News, Tom Smart)

(AP) Elizabeth Smart's family has hired a Los Angeles entertainment attorney to help them screen movie and book proposals about Elizabeth's abduction and remarkable return.

Kelly Crabb, who reportedly has negotiated contracts for Paul McCartney, Dave Matthews and Muhammad Ali, was hired a week ago, said Chris Thomas, the family's spokesman.

According to his firm's Web site, Crabb's areas of practice include motion picture, television and other programming production and financing; composer agreements, personal appearances and motion picture distribution.

"These kind of contracts are very specialized," Thomas said.

Crabb received bachelor's and master's degrees from Brigham Young University before earning a law degree from Columbia University in 1984. He also worked for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.

Elizabeth, now 15, was abducted from her bedroom on the night of June 5. On March 12, she was found in a Salt Lake suburb with her alleged kidnappers.

[FITZ]

Are the VanDamms making movies about their daughter's tragedy? If not, I might respect them a bit more than the Smarts now -----but I believe the Smarts have the right to make this money even though it seems quite tacky.

[ewing]

For better or worse the Globe pays cash. And the fact that she met them 4 times alone before the abduction was going to come out at trial anyway..

[Illbay]

Hollyweird can make a movie about anything it wants, if it is a public news event. They don't need the Smarts' help, but they'd rather have it.

[Amore]

I just loved your post! Granted, young teens occasionally run away with an "old" geezer (& then it gets a lot of publicity). But, really, how often is that going to happen? Ick!

[Hildy]

I bet you every dime of this movie goes to missing children charities. Because that's the kind of people they appear to be. And I believe they are good people put into a surreal situation.

[Spiff]

Where's CPS when you need them?

So you think government jack-booted thugs should come in and kidnap Elizabeth because you don't think the family should consut an expert attorney before deciding if, how, and whether to allow a book or movie to made about Elizabeth's ordeal!!? Are you aware that 50% of all child abuse deaths occur in foster care - that is, after CPS has taken a child away and placed them under state-licensed care? 50%!!! The sexual abuse rate is higher than that under CPS/foster care.

What would you do? The whole world seems to want to know what happened to Elizabeth and the Smart family wants to do it right, if they do it, to protect Elizabeth, etc. Instead of realizing that you want the poor girl kidnapped by strangers and tossed into the abusive CPS/child theft industry. Your attitude is disgusting.

[Illbay]

Oh, I forgot, you guys use "Bible-Prime," and therefor the Book of Malachi is excised from your Bibles.

[Sabatier]

I read that, too. Did she tell Mom about these visits or was she sneaking out to see the guy? There's a rebellious stage teen girls go through where they find the one person that would irriate Mom the most but in this case, Mom brought the guy into the home first. The family seems a little confused.

[Jael]

My first impulse was horror. But then I thought, you know, Hollyweird is making the movie with or without them. They want to control how Elizibeth is presented. So this is how they do it.

In a way I understand that.

[Wrigley]

C'mon bonfire. If you had the burnin', you'd see how those are related.

Pray harder about it.

[Eva]

You see what I mean? You are so overly defensive that you read negative connotations into everything, when they aren't there. I never said that E. Smart did anything wrong. That is your sick mind seeing demons that aren't there. There is a huge difference between feeling sorry for some homeless guy and being a willing partner. You really should calm down a bit. Maybe you aren't as confident in your own beliefs or you wouldn't feel so threatened by outsiders.

[Spiff]

This is SO disgusting. How much more is that girl going to be exploited?

Maybe that's why the family is hiring an expert attorney to ensure that the story can be told in a way that does not inappropriately "exploit" Elizabeth.

[Hildy]

One more time...the PARENTS hired the guy as a charitable gesture for ONE DAY. ThMy husband and I have hired people to help us on our home that needed a break. Does that make me evil? I don't know, the world's turned upside down.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

ILBAY and I have argued about this before- I'm tired of arguing with the old fool.
No offense.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Actually the uncle sold all his photos to Getty Images. He makes money every time a news outlet publishes a photo of Elizabeth.

<---Getty Images

[Wrigley]

Hey now, ill. Aren't the Smart's full tithe paying Mormons? If they are, they need to send 10% of the proceeds to you church. No reason to get uptight over your church.

[Hildy]

How do you know he made money and where it's going?

[ewing]

Elizabeth was either taking the bus or jogging the 2 miles to the Mitchells Mountain camp over Salt Lake City to bring them food.

If she told her mom and dad that she was indeed taking up a new hobby of running it would be hard to smuggle her bike out to make these trips..

[ewing]

I think Elizabeth was really trying to help these people (by taking the Mitchells food 4 times) and perhaps got sucked into their web..-tinfoil hat on

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I bow down to your all-knowingness.

Of course he licensed them to Getty Images for free and Getty Images gives them for free. That's why they have their trademark on the bottom of every photo, it's just for kicks.