Because he's my butler!

It's Harvey Weinstein vs. Warner Bros., and we wouldn't bet against Harvey. He lost the first round in the battle to keep the title of the star-studded historical drama "The Butler" after Warners claimed the rights ("The Butler" was the name of a 1916 comedy short). But Weinstein is fighting back, with star attorney David Boies and appearances on TV to plead his case. He said on "CBS This Morning" that he'd drop the dispute "if they give me the rights to 'The Hobbit.' " "The Butler," or whatever it ends up being called, is scheduled to open Aug. 16.

The final reel

Hey Steven Spielberg, don't mess with a classic! The director is planning a new version of "The Grapes of Wrath." In other literary news, James Franco will direct Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury," hoping to get Jon Hamm to star. And Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malko­vich," "Adaptation") is writing another adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" for Guillermo del Toro. … The Oscar-nominated screenwriters of Boston-based "The Fighter" will write the film adapted from an upcoming book about the Boston Marathon bombing.

CYNTHIA DICKISON