Fri Dec 26, 2008 9:09AM10 comments ›
Fri Dec 26, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Judge's Ruling Favors 20th Over Warner on 'Watchmen'
Urges Both Sides to Cut a Deal
Judge Gary Allen Feess handed Warner Bros. a legal lump of coal on Christmas Eve, as he issued a brief ruling indicating 20th-Century Fox has the distribution rights to Watchmen, according to Variety.
His five-page ruling said, “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture.”
Frees, over the fall, urged Warner Bros. and 20th to iron out their differences. He repeated the suggestion in the document, saying, “The parties may wish to turn their efforts from preparing for trial to negotiating a resolution of this dispute or positioning the case for review.” Warner is set to release the film on March 6, 2009.
Fox acquired the rights from DC Comics in the 1980s with producer Lawrence Gordon’s production company. When 20th lost interest, Gordon moved the project to Universal and Paramount Pictures before landing it with Warner, parent company to DC.
Fox contends that Gordon never obtained all rights from them and they have a controlling interest in the highly-anticipated feature based on the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic.
Given the holidays, Freees promised a lengthier explanation prior to the January 20 trial date. Warner Bros. had no comment on Wednesday.
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Comments (10)
Tom Fitzpatrick (9:10 AM on Fri Dec 26, 2008)
Dammit!
Now, I'm not gonna get to see the movie!
Just for that, I'm gonna skip watching all Fox-related movies and tv for the next year!
Tony Isabella (11:08 AM on Fri Dec 26, 2008)
It's petty of me. I realize this. But, every time DC or Time-Warner takes a hit like this, I smile.
Rick Taylor (1:01 PM on Fri Dec 26, 2008)
You think you're alone in that, Tony?
How about them forgetting to register their new logo?
*Tee-hee*
Tony Isabella (3:02 PM on Fri Dec 26, 2008)
That one had me laughing out loud.
DC manages to screw up the big stuff and the small stuff. Since I'll be trying to get DC to cough up some money to me for the use - however minor - of Black Lightning in the latest edition of their encyclopedia - I checked out a copy of the book. Though the BL entry runs but two paragraphs, they managed to get one major fact wrong.
And it's always a crap shoot as to whether or not DC will pay what they owe me. It took them over a year to pay me for last summer's Black Lightning action figure and, when they did pay me, I got three separate stories as to why the payment was so late. And, though I gave them every chance to show me the smallest amount of respect and let me know that another action figure (original costume) is coming soon - I already knew about it and had already seen production sketches - they couldn't even manage to do something so small that would have generated some good will from me. Geez!
So, yeah, when DC has misfortunes, I'm happy.
Rick Taylor (3:24 PM on Fri Dec 26, 2008)
Tony,
It seems to me that the 'life cycle' of a DC Direct anything is somewhere near ridiculous.
The action figures have shown up remaindered in a Philly chain called Five Below.
I'm sure it takes them forever to figure out the money.
mike weber (8:39 AM on Sat Dec 27, 2008)
Remember - Ace BOoks once sent Harlan Ellison royalty reports indicating that one half of a Ace Double that he had both halves of solde better than the other.
Tom Fitzpatrick (3:53 PM on Fri Dec 26, 2008)
It wouldn't surprise me if Warner Bros. canned the movie rather than give Fox a dime, and Fox would most likely not deal with WB just so to cause them to lose face and money.
The real victims is Zack Snyder, who may have done a decent job adapting the impossibly un-adaptable graphic novel.
The logo thing was funny, tho'.
Glenn Hauman (1:53 AM on Sat Dec 27, 2008)
Oh no, exact opposite. Warner has too much to lose if they can't recoup a dime off the investment; the real question is if Fox will make it too expensive for them and make it impossible for it to ever earn out.
MARK WHEATLEY (8:46 AM on Sat Dec 27, 2008)
That would also be my reading of the situation, Glenn. Money can make for odd bed-fellows! And this really is all about the money. And that means Fox will push WB hard enough to hurt but not so hard that it won't happen. And they will both drag this out just long enough to get all the PR they can and work of the public appetite to see this movie.
mike weber (4:47 PM on Wed Jan 7, 2009)
From IDB.com Warner Agrees To Let Judge Decide On Watchmen Release:
"Rather than ask for a jury trial that would likely have postponed the release of Watchmen, Warner Bros. has agreed to let a federal judge who has shown the studio little sympathy decide whether 20th Century Fox could prevent it from distributing the movie on March 6 as scheduled."
This could be bad...