Jan 16 2009Phew, That 'Watchmen' Lawsuit Thing is Done
Well, you can stop worrying that Watchmen won't make its March 6 release because of the legal battle over rights. Deadline Hollywood and several other sources (thanks, everyone, for sending things here) are reporting a settlement has been reached between Warner Bros. and Fox:
The deal is finally done, and Warner Bros' highly anticipated Watchmen -- based on the comic book series/graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons -- won't be held hostage. I'm hearing that in tonight's settlement, Fox will not be an active distributor of the pic, but will receive up to 8 1/2% gross participation in the pic, and a piece of everything going forward including a sequel or spinoff, and a cash payment upfront including recoupment of its development costs and attorney fees, and god-only-knows what else.
Good thing they got the sequel and spinoff rights sorted as well. I don't want to go through this again for Watchmen 2, 3, & 4.
Reader Comments
1. shart - January 16, 2009 10:03 AM
Yeah, like there was really any chance that the movie wouldn't come out.
2. Blake - January 16, 2009 10:47 AM
Sequel? Um, have they read "Watchmen?" I wasn't aware there was ever a sequel written for Watchmen. Hollywood would, though. They'd figure out a way to write a sequel to Romeo and Juliet.
3. Aaron - January 16, 2009 10:54 AM
Oh yeah awesome, Dr Manhattan spin off!
yeah, alan moores gonna have a seizure when he hears about this.
4. Eddy - January 16, 2009 10:57 AM
Well, if they frak up the ending, they can at least make a sequel where they discuss the original ending as an alternate universe!
5. Ted - January 16, 2009 11:07 AM
Thank you for stating the obvious there Blake, I don't think the sarcasm in the statement 'Good thing they got the sequel and spinoff rights sorted as well. I don't want to go through this again for Watchmen 2, 3, & 4' was quite strong enough for the stupider readers to get.
6. Nick - January 16, 2009 11:16 AM
Fox is making an obscene amount of money for doing nothing but capitalizing on a technicality here. Gotta love our legal system.
Then again, I'll probably feel WB got their just desserts after I see the movie.
7. sully - January 16, 2009 12:27 PM
Gee, I can't wait for Watchman 4... I feel like that will be the best watch man...
@6, Give Fox a break... they really need the money. Didn't you see X-Men 3?
8. SpamIsDelish - January 16, 2009 2:18 PM
fox getting a piece of any sequel money is proof alone they had no effing clue what they were doing with the property.
9. Morley - January 16, 2009 4:21 PM
@2: You obviously missed the printing of "Watchmen 2 - W2tchmen."
10. wendy - January 16, 2009 4:41 PM
If they told a half or a third of the story in the first movie a sequel would be fine.
11. Jimmy - January 16, 2009 7:53 PM
sequel and spin-offs? Oh, just you wait. it'll happen.
12. ThingsFallAPart - January 17, 2009 11:15 AM
Yeah, I personally can't wait for Watchmen 2: The Klumps.
13. sully - January 18, 2009 5:09 PM
@10, no, it's the full blown story. There's already guff about how the ending is different than the novel.
I guarantee that if this movie makes as much as I think it will, we will have sequels, because people will watch them... we watch the watchmen
14. richo - January 22, 2009 7:13 PM
how about a live action ozymandais spin off show, that could work. a whole line of action figures, but no nite owl or rorscach, just ambiguous terrorists.
(pardon spelling)