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Judge rules rights to The Watchmen belong to...
...20th Century Fox. That's right kids. According to an article in the NY Times, judge Gary A. Feess ruled that 20th Century Fox owns at least a copyright interest in the big-screen adaptation of The Watchmen, dealing a pretty damaging blow to Warner Brothers, and possibly eager fans.
“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture,” the ruling said.
Yikes. Obviously, the judge made no mention as to if and how this affects the impending March 6 release of the film (and why would he). But it does lead to quite a few questions, with the most important one being is whether we can expect to see this film released at all. Warner Brothers was banking on this film as one of their two 2009 "tentpoles" of the year, and if they can't distribute this its going to wreak havoc on their financials. Beyond that, if Fox and WB are fighting over releasing the film, we may not see it released in March at all. And at that point, its anyone's guess as to when we can expect to see the film.
On the positive side, the judge did rule that Fox and WB should move towards a settlement so that the film does get released. I'm doubting that the two studios are going to come together quickly and get this settled so we can see the film. Here's hoping that something can be resolved, and we can all be in IMAX theaters on March 6 to see a film adaptation of one of the most prolific graphic novels of all time.
Judge rules rights to The Watchmen belong to Fox
...20th Century Fox. That's right kids. According to an article in the NY Times, judge Gary A. Feess ruled that 20th Century Fox owns at least a copyright interest in the big-screen adaptation of The Watchmen, dealing a pretty damaging blow to Warner Brothers, and possibly eager fans.
“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture,” the ruling said.
Yikes. Obviously, the judge made no mention as to if and how this affects the impending March 6 release of the film (and why would he). But it does lead to quite a few questions, with the most important one being is whether we can expect to see this film released at all. Warner Brothers was banking on this film as one of their two 2009 "tentpoles" of the year, and if they can't distribute this its going to wreak havoc on their financials. Beyond that, if Fox and WB are fighting over releasing the film, we may not see it released in March at all. And at that point, its anyone's guess as to when we can expect to see the film.
On the positive side, the judge did rule that Fox and WB should move towards a settlement so that the film does get released. I'm doubting that the two studios are going to come together quickly and get this settled so we can see the film. Here's hoping that something can be resolved, and we can all be in IMAX theaters on March 6 to see a film adaptation of one of the most prolific graphic novels of all time.
Judge rules rights to The Watchmen belong to Fox
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