Aug 19 2008'Watchmen' Has More Legal Trouble Than Your Dad
Whoop, sorry for the late start. As sent in by many people last night and this morning, a federal judge has denied Warner Brothers' motion to dismiss Fox's lawsuit regarding the rights to distribute Watchmen, meaning the anticipated release could be delayed, completely ruining my only plans for March of next year. As Fox tells it:
In essence, the Judge appears to conclude that Fox retained distribution rights in Watchmen through the 1991 Largo quitclaim, and he concludes that, under the 1994 turnaround, producer Larry Gordon acquired an option to acquire Fox's remaining interest in Watchmen that was never exercised, thereby leaving Fox with its rights under the 1994 agreement,
Warner Bros. has since added:
The judge did not opine at all on the merits, other than to conclude that Fox satisfied the pleading requirements. We respectfully disagree with Fox's position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project.
Yikes, legal things! Let's hope this gets sorted out in a reasonable amount of time. We've already had to cope with one unreleased masterwork of superhero cinema; we can't afford another.
Warner's 'Watchmen' In Legal Peril After Judge Won't Dismiss Fox Suit[Deadline Hollywood]
Reader Comments
1. Nick - August 19, 2008 1:00 PM
Yeah, I just read about this on the IMDb. Fox has an impeccable sense of timing. I wouldn't be surprised if they waited until the movie was nearly completed so that they could work out some kind of deal with Warner to get a ridiculous settlement without ever having to do any work on Watchmen.
2. Charlotte - August 19, 2008 1:08 PM
I definately just read about this too. Fox is calling it a battle over a "potential franchise" uugghhhh
3. jimmyboy - August 19, 2008 1:18 PM
We should boycott all Fox movies, it's not like they have any sway in the film industry anyways.
4. Lorenzo Semple - August 19, 2008 1:29 PM
Warner Brothers is having a bad year.
First, there's the failure of Speed Racer (which I loved)
Then there's the Harry Potter push back
Now this.
The Dark Knight can only pay for itself and Speed Racer to break even.
5. Lorenzo Semple - August 19, 2008 1:29 PM
And not to mention the suckiness of The Clone Wars.
6. wendy - August 19, 2008 1:54 PM
My understanding is that the original FF movie was made with the lowest budget possible just so the studio could squat on the rights.
7. Giggleloop - August 19, 2008 2:00 PM
I downloaded that original Fantastic Four movie from a torrent forever ago - and it was GOD AWFUL. Not that the new ones were really much better. *shrug*
8. Nick - August 19, 2008 2:04 PM
It was still better than Ghost Rider, right?
9. Krespie - August 19, 2008 2:08 PM
Even though you did provide an obvious hint, linking to FF feels like the comic book equivalent of being Rickroll'd.
10. NastyBedazzler - August 19, 2008 2:35 PM
Now all we have to do is sit here and wait for a disgruntled Warner Bros employee to leak a DVD or R5 onto torrent sites and fuck over FOX big time.
11. Rocko Solido - August 19, 2008 3:07 PM
Good, maybe the flick will never be released and I wont have to suffer through another bastardization of Moore's work. Although then I'd have to hear about Moore singing his own victory praise, so I'm not sure what the trade off is...
Oh, how about people quit fucking with his stories and he quits voicing his opinion of his work in any medium?
12. dan - August 19, 2008 3:49 PM
those of us with actual legal knowledge know that the failure of a motion to dismiss doesn't really mean shit. WB could still be in the clear, but i smell a settlement coming to make sure WB can release the movie on time.
13. wat - August 20, 2008 12:22 AM
NastyBedazzler, you're joking, right? You can't leak an R5. Learn to pirate.
14. jimnova - August 20, 2008 4:24 AM
fox is just blackballing wb for cash. which theyll get. but i have a feeling that the 2:45 cut that kevin smith and gibbons have seen that snyder is pushing to make to theaters will be severely cut down, to the point where the movie wont even make sense.
15. vernon dudley - August 20, 2008 10:22 AM
i hope wb loses big time, if not in one way then in another. that'll show them to push back hbp.