‘Watchmen’ Lawsuit Update + New Trailer & Video Journal
By The Movie God
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Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
As always, the Watchmen movie is a huge topic. So instead lots of little stories, here’s one with all the latest goodies.
First off, and most importantly, the lawsuit update: It seems that both Fox and Warner Bros. have decided to pass up a trial by jury and let WB’s favorite judge on the planet right now make a decision on the March 6, 2009 release date that is set.
This means that on January 20th (the date originally set for a trial), Judge Gary Feess (the same dude who decided he didn’t want to wait until Jan. 20th and declared Fox the rightful owner) will sit down and decide whether Warner Brothers has the right to release the movie that they made on the date that they set, or if an injunction will be presented to prevent the movie from being released.
To explain in a much smarter fashion than my own, THR‘s Matthew Belloni laid out the whole thing. Below is the most important section.
It all comes down to whether Feess will issue an injunction. If the judge blocks the release then it’s game over, Fox can demand whatever it wants and Warners will pay (like it did back in 2005 when an injunction was issued against “The Dukes of Hazzard”–by, you guessed it, Judge Gary Feess–and the studio quickly settled for a reported $17.5 million).
But despite the judge having apparently become convinced over the past week that producer Lawrence Gordon failed to do everything required of him to get the “Watchmen” film rights back from Fox in Turnaround, an injunction certainly isn’t a given here. Under copyright law, a rightsholder still has to show, among other things, that it will be “irreparably harmed” absent an injunction, and it’s hard to see how Fox, which basically sat on its rights as the “Watchmen” project bounced from studio to studio, can’t wait until a trial to get whatever money it’s entited to from any infringement.
On the sunnier side of things, some great new stuff to watch has hit the net.
First off, the Japanese trailer via Comic Book Movie, which is mostly what we’ve seen with a few new things here and there, like most International trailers go. Check it out below.
Next up is the newest video journal which is about the Minutemen. You can watch the pretty video at Apple, or just watch in YouTube fashion below.
It’s funny that the movies that have the most potential are always bogged down with lawsuits and financial predicaments. Even films like The Wrestler, which went on to win several awards, had great difficulty receiving production funds.
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Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
It’s funny that the movies that have the most potential are always bogged down with lawsuits and financial predicaments. Even films like The Wrestler, which went on to win several awards, had great difficulty receiving production funds.
Comment by The Massie Twins — January 13, 2009 @ 4:16 pm