I’m sure many of you have been wating with baited breath on word of the Warner Bros./Fox Watchmen lawsuit in which Fox is trying to stop the release of the film, claiming it still owns the rights to movie. It’s kind of funny when big companies start brawling with one another. When Cox got a slap on the wrist from the FCC for downgrading Internet service for those “exceeding the limit”, Cox responded with, “we’re only doing what everyone else is doing, so why should we get in trouble?”
In order to clear their name, Warner Bros, is claiming Fox sat back while producer Lawrence Gordon shopped the project around from studio to studio with Fox knowing what was going on every step of the way. This is my whole problem with Fox’s claims, too. The company has known for at least a year the film was in production and did nothing at the time, it’s only when the film has the hype machine behind it, and looks to be as successful as The Dark Knight in box office returns did Fox reps try anything. In order to help its case, expect Warner to drag other studios into the fight.
Friday’s filing makes it clear that not only Mr. Gordon, but also Paramount, Legendary and even Universal Pictures can expect to be drawn into the fray. Universal had tried to make a version of the film in 2001, before Paramount took over. And though Paramount dropped its plans for the movie, it became involved as a partner when Warner teamed up with the director Mr. Snyder in the wake of the box office success of “300.â€
I’ll say it again, someone’s looking for a payday in all of this, and it is the company who’s Simpson’s Movie didn’t do too well.
6 Comments
I have to disagree on the Simpsons movie not doing well. It’s production budget was only 75 million (I wish I had ONLY 75 mil) and it’s gross was 180+ mil stateside and 525+ mil worldwide. That’s a big return on investment for a show that’s been on TV for 18 years and by all rights we should be sick of by now (which I’m not).
How about Babylon A.D. in place of the Simpsons?
I predict Fox will drop the suit. Unless they want a bunch of protesting, screaming fanboys pounding at their doors, promising to “boycott,” their future productions
Im not suprised Fox is trying to get the rights to this movie. Dark Knight did fantastic and the Watchmen comic books are selling a lot! So who can blame them.
But i saw Warner Bro. will continue to own the rights for the movie. After all, WB is the home for DC Comics..
I guess I’m the only one rooting for Fox. The only thing I look forward to less about a Watchmen movie is the internet being full of people talking about it.
Oh, and I doubt Fox is worried about a fanboy boycott. The difference between, say, fan boys talking online about how utter crap New Avengers is and how they’ll never buy another issue and New Avengers’ actual sales show that fanboys are incapable of a unified boycott. I for example can easily stay away from Battlestar Galactica but if you expect me to stay away from any Star Trek premiere you’d better be armed and at my front door. Paramount could fund mass murder of kittens and cute orphans and I’d still the movie.
as long as the movie is released one way or another, the way the director wants it, i don’t care. none of us will get any money anyway, it’s all between them.