20th cent/fox sues to stop watchmen...

[Mike70]

from being released. apparently, 20th cent/fox is claiming that they bought the rights back in the 80's. they are seeking to halt the release of the movie and any related merchandise. in effect, they are trying to kill it.

nice of them to wait until warner had spent millions on the movie. then there are the fans who are expecting to see this.



Legal Battle Over Watchmen Movie
19 August 2008 5:13 AM, PDT


Bosses at Twentieth Century Fox have launched a legal battle to block the release of new comic book movie Watchmen.

The film, based on the comic books written by Alan Moore, is due to hit cinemas in March 2009.

But the release has now been thrown into jeopardy after chiefs at Fox filed legal papers in Los Angeles claiming they bought the rights to the series in the 1980s - and seeking an injunction against rival studio Warner Bros in a bid to halt the picture.

A spokesman for Fox says the company will be "asking the court to enforce our copyright interests" and urging the judge to stop the release of the movie and "any related Watchmen media that violate our copyright interests in that property".

A representative for Warner Bros adds, "We respectfully disagree with Fox's position and do not believe they have any rights."

The film stars Patrick Wilson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and is directed by Zack Snyder, who helmed 2007 movie 300.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Usually when you option a property you only have so many years to get it rolling or you lose the rights. I am curious to see how this turns out.

[Minerva_Zombi]

This may be a good thing. Because I'm betting you that the trailer is about 100 times better than the actual movie itself. Zack Snyders good at directing trailers. As for feature length films.... Not so much.

[bassman]

Usually when you option a property you only have so many years to get it rolling or you lose the rights.

That's what I was thinking. If nothing else, they'll cut a deal where both studios get a slice of the pie. It won't be just shoved onto a shelf to collect dust.

:lol::elol: @ Minerva. Yeah. I did like his trailer for Watchmen, though. The Pumpkins' "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" perfectly sets the mood...

[zombie04]

The Pumpkins' "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" perfectly sets the mood...

Well it did work so well for Batman and Robin:p...can't even say it with a straight face

[Bub666]

This may be a good thing. Because I'm betting you that the trailer is about 100 times better than the actual movie itself. Zack Snyders good at directing trailers. As for feature length films.... Not so much.

I agree.

[clanglee]

This may be a good thing. Because I'm betting you that the trailer is about 100 times better than the actual movie itself. Zack Snyders good at directing trailers. As for feature length films.... Not so much.

Bah. . . Dawn'04 and 300 are both great movies. . so fie on you. .fie on you indeed sir.

I would HATE if they canned this movie, but somehow I'm not too worried about it.

[Danny]

man, they do NOT wanna **** with alan moore, hes 14 foot tall and worships the snake god that will one day emerge from his oaken beard to sing the song that ends existence.

[clanglee]

man, they do NOT wanna **** with alan moore, hes 14 foot tall and worships the snake god that will one day emerge from his oaken beard to sing the song that ends existence.
:lol::lol::lol:
Hell, you just became my favorite person of the day for that!!

[Bub666]

man, they do NOT wanna **** with alan moore, hes 14 foot tall and worships the snake god that will one day emerge from his oaken beard to sing the song that ends existence.

:lol:

[MoonSylver]

I know it's all legal-ieze at this point, but since Time Warner owns DC comics it's THEIR property...yeah you may have snatched up the rights to it at some point (& done nothing with them...), but it's theirs now. The bought the company, therefore they bought it, IMO.

If they loose, I'd "leak" the thing &give it away for free & tell Fox shove THAT up their greedy a$$es:evil::elol:

[acealive1]

Usually when you option a property you only have so many years to get it rolling or you lose the rights. I am curious to see how this turns out.


agreed, u cant sell the rights twice unless someones contract ran out on it.

[Minerva_Zombi]

Bah. . . Dawn'04 and 300 are both great movies. . so fie on you. .fie on you indeed sir.

I would HATE if they canned this movie, but somehow I'm not too worried about it.

Dawn 04 isn't great, but its much better than 300. 300 should've been either a video game or a 30 minute animated special.

But the trailer for Watchmen is really good. I can't deny it makes me wanna see it. But, Im just pretty convinced that the movie will be a dissapointment compared to the trailer. Its usually the other way around. The trailer for The Dark Knight looked pretty crappy in my opinion. But the movie... well... I've seen it 4 times already. lol

[DjfunkmasterG]

This may be a good thing. Because I'm betting you that the trailer is about 100 times better than the actual movie itself. Zack Snyders good at directing trailers. As for feature length films.... Not so much.


Well you really don't direct trailers. Trailers are cut from the material already shot, and usually the editor will cut the trailer together or an outside party is brought into do the work.

Am I the only one who has no interest in the Watchmen movie. I like Zack's stuff, I dig DAWN 04, and there are parts of 300 I do like, but seriously do we really need to watch another entirely filled CGI fest. Is it that hard to shoot on location?

[bassman]

Am I the only one who has no interest in the Watchmen movie. I like Zack's stuff, I dig DAWN 04, and there are parts of 300 I do like, but seriously do we really need to watch another entirely filled CGI fest. Is it that hard to shoot on location?

I may be mistaken here, but I seem to remember reading set reports and seeing pictures that showed that the sets were real. With painstaking detail to have it perfectly mirror the 80's setting of the book....

I'll see if i can dig em up...

And yeah, I'm looking forward to Watchmen. I'm not very impressed with Snyder's previous efforts, but everyone deserves another shot. The trailer definitely had me interested, so I'll see it in theater just like I have his past two films. Hopefully this time he'll get it....

EDIT: Here's a video about the sets. At least it's not all green screen like 300. Of course there will be many other effects shots in the film, but the real sets will help alot, imo.

g6egkDlp6-I&hl=en&fs=1

[Minerva_Zombi]

Well you really don't direct trailers. Trailers are cut from the material already shot, and usually the editor will cut the trailer together or an outside party is brought into do the work.

Am I the only one who has no interest in the Watchmen movie. I like Zack's stuff, I dig DAWN 04, and there are parts of 300 I do like, but seriously do we really need to watch another entirely filled CGI fest. Is it that hard to shoot on location?


no ****. but you're directing footage for the trailer.

[DjfunkmasterG]

no ****. but you're directing footage for the trailer.


No, you're directing footage for the movie, that footage then becomes part of trailer if they make one, in which this case they did.

Anyway, Saw the trailer again tonight, and I still think this is going to suck ass, and has wayyyyyy to much f**king CGI in it.