• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, July 16, 2009

Warren Beatty's battle with the Tribune Co. took an acerbic turn Thursday as the famed actor sought a court order to prevent him from giving a videotaped deposition next week.

In the matter involving cartoon character Dick Tracy, Tribune offered to restrict distribution of the tape, but Beatty's attorneys said it still could be "disseminated inadvertently" and then "abused," according to court papers.

Beatty's side argued a deposition video could find its way onto the Internet and be "spread globally almost instantaneously," which could do irreversible harm to the 72-year-old performer.

The actor has agreed to sit for the deposition and doesn't object to a written transcript, but won't allow a videotaping. In an emergency motion in a Delaware bankruptcy court, his attorneys asked the judge to block the recording.

In the case, Beatty is fighting with Tribune to keep rights to the Dick Tracy character, which he acquired in 1985. A Beatty-produced TV special starring himself as the detective was to air on TCM this month.

The motion to stop the would-be July 23 videotaping came after Beatty's attorneys sought to resolve the matter through consultation with Tribune's attorneys. But Tribune refused to cede ground, saying it intended to proceed with both a written and taped record of the deposition. A Tribune spokesman declined comment.

Tribune did offer to "negotiate a protective order restricting dissemination" of a video, but Beatty's attorneys said he believes that "would be inadequate to protect his privacy."

Beatty and Tribune Media Services, which licenses cartoon characters, negotiated a deal in 1985 to give him the movie and TV rights to Tracy, which Beatty turned into a 1990 film. But Tribune reserved the right to reclaim control if a specified period lapsed in which Beatty produced no programming.

Under the agreement, Tribune could then give Beatty notice it intended to take back the Tracy rights if "principal photography" on a production did not begin during the next two years. Tribune maintains it gave Beatty notice in late 2006, and he failed to begin filming by the 2008 deadline.

Beatty contends shooting for the TCM special started 12 days before the November 2008 deadline, allowing him to hold on to Tracy rights.

The matter was in a California court, but is now before the bankruptcy judge as part of Tribune Co.'s filing for Chapter 11 protection. In court papers, Tribune contends the Tracy rights are "potentially of great value."

In the motion to halt a videotaping, Beatty's attorneys argued that his deposition will be "purely factual" in nature and "a video record of [his] demeanor ... is therefore unnecessary."