Stitching Together A 'Project Runway' Settlement Appears Unlikely

By Eriq Gardner

The prospect of "Project Runway" soon returning to television soon looks about as good as pink stripes on a red blouse.

According to the NY Times , both sides in the dispute over the show's move from Bravo to Lifetime have dug in and are not meeting to negotiate any out-of-court settlement. Of course, if they were negotiating, it probably wouldn't be smart to do it through the NY Times, but the animosity between "Runway" producer Harvey Weinstein and Bravo head Lauren Zalaznick is now well known. As New York State Judge Richard B. Lowe III wrote in his preliminary injunction preventing the network move, "Weinstein had a particular dislike for Lauren Zalaznick, the head of Bravo, whom he claimed made day-to-day production of ‘Project Runway’ difficult."

Much of the sixth season of the show is already in the can. "Runway" fans can hold out hope that a federal judge claims jurisdictional domain thanks to the copyright claims involved and overturns the injunction. (A NBC Universal spokeswoman says that Lifetime’s effort to move the case to federal court is “part of a ploy to shop for a different [jurisdictional] forum.”) Fans can also pray on their Christian Louboutin Privatita pumps that Harvey Weinstein gets together with old friend Jeff Zucker at NBC Universal to work out a deal.

For now, though, the fact that each side has brought in the big legal guns — David Boies for Weinstein and Orin Snyder for NBC Universal — indicates that this is most likely headed for trial.

UPDATE: The tapestry of lawsuits continues to be woven. Now Lifetime is suing NBC Universal, Bravo Media, and even the Weinstein Co. claiming they hold the rights to "Project Runway." Obviously, they want the show on the air as soon as possible.