CLASS-ACTION SUIT AGAINST STUDIOS OVER FILM PROFITS APPROVED BY JUDGE.

Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer

A federal judge gave attorneys the go-ahead Monday to take on Hollywood's major motion picture studios in a class-action lawsuit alleging price-fixing and conspiracy.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the estate of Jim Garrison, whose book became the movie ``JFK,'' seeks to recover perhaps billions of dollars for actors, producers, directors and others who entered into contracts that entitled them to a share of a movie's net profits.

``This is great,'' said attorney Thomas Girardi, who represents the Garrisons. ``Everything that we wanted to do for all those other people out there that basically have not gotten a fair shake. . . . This is a great win for the people in the industry who do not normally have a voice.''

The suit covers people involved in ``net-profit'' contracts since 1988, potentially 1,500 films and 10 to 15 contracts per film involving anyone from authors to big-name artists like Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Sally Field.

What the suit does not cover, under U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi's Monday ruling, are breach of contract allegations and questions about the industry's accounting practices.

Bert Fields, an attorney for Paramount Pictures, said he was heartened by the judge's ruling on those issues, which he said represented two-thirds of the original claims.

Regarding the antitrust and conspiracy issues, studio attorneys said they will appeal the matter within the next few months and are confident they will win.

In any event, Fields contended, ``If you know how the heads of studios work, you know that they would never sit together in a room and come together with a definition of `net profits.' They (plaintiffs) wouldn't be able to prove conspiracy because it never happened.''

The lawsuit claims that directors and others were denied their fair share of money because studio heads secretly agreed to use the same definition of ``net profits'' in their contracts - a definition that can show a blockbuster movie like ``Batman'' or ``Forrest Gump'' as a net-profit loser.

According to the lawsuit, ``JFK'' has worldwide grosses in excess of $150 million, but producer Warner Bros. says the movie has not earned any money under its ``net profits'' accounting formula.

The suit said Garrison's estate had not received a dollar of net profits income, even though they should have been paid more than $1 million.

The lawsuit was filed in November on behalf of anyone who made a net profits contract with the studios after January 1988. It named Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Columbia-TriStar and MGM-UA as defendants.