Fox sues WB over Watchmen

[cmurdur]

Fox Sues Warner Bros. Over Watchmen
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
February 12, 2008


20th Century Fox has initiated a legal battle against Warner Bros. over the rights to develop, produce and distribute a film based on the graphic novel Watchmen, says The Hollywood Reporter.

On Friday, the studio sued Warner Bros., claiming it holds the exclusive copyrights and contract rights to Watchmen.

Warner Bros. plans to release on March 6, 2009 a big-screen version of the popular graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. The film is directed by Zack Snyder (300) and stars Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino, Stephen McHattie and Matt Frewer.

The trade says Fox seeks to enjoin Warner Bros. from going forward with the project, saying in the lawsuit that it seeks to "restrain (Warner Bros. Pictures) from taking actions that violate Fox's copyrights and which stand to forever impair Fox's rights to control the distribution and development of this unique work."

Fox claims that between 1986 and 1990, it acquired all movie rights to the 12-issue DC Comics series and screenplays by Charles McKeown and Sam Hamm. In 1991, Fox assigned some rights via a quitclaim to Largo International with the understanding that the studio held exclusive rights to distribute the first motion picture based on Watchmen, according to the lawsuit.

When Largo dismantled, the rights were transferred to producer Lawrence Gordon. Under a "turnaround agreement" between Fox and Gordon, the producer agreed to pay a buy-out price to Fox if he entered into any agreement with another studio or third party to develop or produce Watchmen, among other things.

Now, Fox claims that neither Gordon nor Warner Bros. has paid the buy-out price or advised the studio of any other conditions required under the agreement, including procedures necessary to acquire the rights to Watchmen from Fox.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/wa...ws.php?id=6782

[KING]

I hate Fox...

[BooBerry]

Don't they already have all the Marvel movies? Greedy asses.

[Cataclysm]

Fox is in the wrong because...why? If it is true that they still own the rights to Watchmen, then it would be really stupid on their part not to sue.

[BooBerry]

True, but it's douche-baggy of them to wait this long to bring up a suit. Instead they wait, knowing what WB was doing, knwoing a lot of money was being spent on the making of the film, let them do it, then decide to try and take the rights.

Nonsense.

[Grendel]

Somewhere, Alan Moore is laughing his ass off...

[Chief Falling Rock]

they do have every right to soo if they do have the rights, but I agree its shitty of them to wait so long. Doin whatever they can to get the most money out of it I suppose.