No, No, No! Could 'Watchmen' Get Delayed to 2010?
Filed under: Deals, Celebrities and Controversy, Exhibition, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Frakking lawsuits.
Last month, Elisabeth alerted you to the legal turmoil bubbling around Watchmen. Basically, 20th Century Fox used to have the rights, and claim they still have them, so they're trying to prevent Warner Brothers from releasing the eagerly awaited film. Warner Brothers, meanwhile, claims that Fox has sat silently until the film was set to go, knowing full well what was happening.
Now The New York Times says that Warner is pushing for a trial date of April, with Fox pushing for June. Assuming that the film can't be released until this is cleared up, we might not only not get Watchmen in March, but also not in the summer of 2009. Will we have to wait until 2010? I don't want to think about it. There's a whole swarm of moviegoers peeved about the Harry Potter delay. I can't imagine what a year-long delay would do to Watchmen fiends. Where's Doctor Manhattan when you need him? Or a jail-storming Nite Owl and Silk Spectre?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-02-2008 @ 12:31PM
Matthew said...
Man, this is some repugnant stuff. I'd boycott if I wasn't already being crushed under the weight of my own fanboyism.
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9-02-2008 @ 1:10PM
Devin said...
Monika, there's almost no chance that WATCHMEN will be delayed by so much as a single minute. One of the things that Fox is likely looking for is some points on the film, so having the thing get released is in their best interests. Also, as ugly as Hollywood is, no studio wants to be the one that smashes a tentpole film from another studio, especially in a year like 2009, which is short on blockbusters thanks to the writer's strike. That wouldn't just piss off the rest of Hollywood's creative community, that would turn theatrical exhibitors against Fox. Theater owners want WATCHMEN, which is going to make them more money than any Fox film in a few years.
There's a lot of legal wrangling going on with the case, but neither side wants it to go to court, and everything you're seeing is legal maneuvering. I appreciate sites keeping their readers up to date on the issue, but I get very concerned when an unsupported amount of alarmism happens. I suppose that it's possible that WATCHMEN gets delayed, but that's simply the least likely scenario.
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9-02-2008 @ 1:15PM
TVGenius said...
Actually, I wouldn't get your hopes up much. Fox is suing to permanently block the release (as they claim they have the rights to the franchise) not just to get even financially with them. So if Fox wins, it's believed the film may never be shown period.
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9-02-2008 @ 1:42PM
Los said...
Both studios will lose out. WB for not making sure this was all cleared up ahead of time, and Fox for being money-grubbing about it.
Oh well. This movie never would have been made if not for Spider-Man & X-men and the like.
I'm over it, the whole thing is just a money grab from the get go.
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9-02-2008 @ 1:48PM
Astin said...
TVGenius - Which means they want money. Sue for the biggest possible thing they can, and then WB says "what's it going to take?", FOX says "a gagillion dollars", WB says, "fine". End of suit.
No way this doesn't get released.
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9-02-2008 @ 2:02PM
Devin said...
TV Genius, you're simply wrong. Fox is seeking an injunction as is standard in a case like this. It's legal maneuvering. This will be settled out of court.
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9-02-2008 @ 2:28PM
drew said...
I'm scared
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9-02-2008 @ 6:20PM
mezzanine said...
Ooooh that pisses me off. Bastards. I didn't even read the article. Saw the headline and my blood vessels exploded.
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9-03-2008 @ 12:48AM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Shrug. The movie will not do well anyway. The story is nothing short of predictable and boring. There's no climax to the film and the hokey alternative 80s thing isn't gonna play well with the crowd that goes to movies (folks born after 1990).
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9-08-2008 @ 2:46AM
Jesse M. said...
According to the Hollywood Reporter article at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3id7efd5118ad0ac0728020a905a1f15ac which is more recent than the NY Times article, the trial has been scheduled for Jan. 6, so if they work out a deal there should be no delay in the release date 03-06-09.
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