JeromeSiegel Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Warner Bros Has Until 2011 To Pull Superman Out of Limbo
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Warner Brothers », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Politics », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
When Warner Bros announced it was rebooting the Superman franchise, we all held our breath a little bit waiting to see what Gigantic News would come next. Of course, nothing happened. Last week, Omelete talked to Brandon Routh on the Scott Pilgrim set, who revealed that his Superman contract had expired, and that he had no idea when or if he would return to the character. (Pause for a moment and realize how much it has to suck to get the part of Superman, and have it go utterly sour.) That news suggested one of two things: that Warner Bros would let the franchise expire too, or that they were planning on picking out a new Man of Steel. Now, Warner Bros and DC Comics have won a favorable ruling in the suit filed by Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson, the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel. If you're curious about the lawsuit in its entirety, ThinkMcFlyThink has a pdf of it, but the part that concerns Superman fans is this: Warner Bros president Alan Horn testified that he'd like to make another movie, but that the project wasn't currently in development at the studio. There isn't even a script being written. The earliest another Superman film could hit theaters would be 2012.
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Superman's Future May Be Tied Up in Court
Filed under: Warner Brothers », Fandom », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Last Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the estate of Jerome Siegel was entitled to claim a share of the United States copyright to all things Superman. Siegel created the character with his partner Joseph Shuster in the 1930's before selling the copyright to Detective Comics (which later became DC Comics, now owned by Time Warner) for a whopping $130. Siegel has been fighting to reclaim a portion of the copyright basically ever since, though all he ever won was a $30,000 annuity that stopped in 1999. Now, 11 years after his death, it looks like he's been vindicated, pending an appeal by Time Warner. You can find more details in this New York Times article.No one seems sure about what specific implications this will have, and I'm no expert on copyright law, but everyone seems to agree on two things: 1) Time Warner may owe the Siegel estate a lot of money from use of the character since 1999, and 2) this may have thrown at least a temporary wrench into Warner's plans for a follow-up to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. Ordinarily, news that legal squabbling is holding up production on a favorite franchise would lead to a lot of cursing from fans who are shocked -- shocked! -- that money and greed would stand in the way of filmmaking. But this time it's a "little guy" who's causing all the trouble, not a faceless corporation, and it seems churlish to complain.
My prediction: Time Warner will pay the Siegels off. There's too much money in Superman for something like this to halt the assembly line for very long.
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