Breaking Watchmen News...Not Good!

[kl241]

All this legal dispute is doing is building more hype and FOX is helping to give Warner an extra push for more box office gross. Good job FOX!

 

[tomandshell]

Don't encourage them.

 

[IrishJedi]

Oh, this is just getting juicier and juicier every minute:

Larry Gordon has say on 'Watchmen'
Blames Fox for debacle in letter to judge
By Matthew Belloni and Borys Kit
Jan 9, 2009, 01:00 AM ET
Larry Gordon is tired of being the villain in the "Watchmen" dispute.

In an unorthodox move, the veteran producer has fired off a lengthy letter to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess blaming Fox and his then-lawyers for the debacle and offering his version of events that led to the court's ruling that Fox owns distribution rights to the Zack Snyder-helmed comic-book adaptation.

Feess' Dec. 24 decision found that Gordon, who is not a party to the case, did not secure proper rights to "Watchmen" from Fox before shopping the project and setting it up at Warner Bros. The judge also said Gordon had "refused to testify" to key questions during his deposition and, as punishment, would not be allowed to have his voice heard on "any aspect" of the case.

Gordon had remained silent since then but fired back Wednesday, stating in a letter filed by his litigation lawyers that he has been subjected to "significant public scorn" for his role in the studio battle and arguing his case that he answered deposition questions "to the best of his knowledge."

Feess refused to read the letter, issuing a terse one-paragraph response later Wednesday that called it an "improper communication" in violation of court rules.

In the letter, Gordon defends his actions during the negotiations of two key agreements with Fox -- during the early 1990s and during the course of the litigation. He also lays out several pages of evidence showing his responses to deposition questions.

"Mr. Gordon clearly testified that he does not recall any conversations he had with representatives of Fox in or about 1994 relating to 'Watchmen,' " the letter states.

Gordon is referring to a 1994 turnaround agreement signed by Gordon and Fox that allowed him to shop the project. During negotiations for that agreement, Gordon argues that he and apparently his attorneys were unaware of a 1991 quitclaim agreement that granted Fox distribution rights to the film and a share of profits if Gordon made it elsewhere.

Feess ruled that Gordon did not fully control "Watchmen" because he failed to reimburse Fox its development costs and to resubmit the project when key creative elements changed.

Gordon claims in his letter that during those negotiations, Fox sent his lawyer, Tom Hunter at the firm Bloom Dekom, a chain of title that did not include the 1991 quitclaim.

"It is Mr. Gordon's position that the execution of the 1994 turnaround agreement was the result of either a mutual mistake by both parties or a unilateral mistake made by his counsel, on which Mr. Gordon relied," the letter says.

Fox, Warner Bros. and Gordon's attorneys declined comment Thursday.

The development comes as the parties are scheduled to meet in Feess' courtroom today to determine a timeline for Feess to decide whether to issue an injunction blocking Warners' planned March 6 release of the potential tentpole.

Several sources have said discussions are heating up, but both studios denied late Thursday that an agreement had been reached in the stalemate.

Also Thursday, "Watchmen's" other producer, Lloyd Levin, lashed out against Fox in an open letter screed posted on the Web site HitFix.

 

[tomandshell]

So the judge wouldn't even read the letter?

I don't like this judge.

 

[IrishJedi]

Well, in the judge's defense (on this one) Gordon is being a total wuss. He didn't testify, because it's HIS royal foul-up. So he's claiming he can't recall the details. Yeah, right. Now he's crying to the judge because he's been subjected to "significant public scorn". What a weasel. He's not helping the production at all. And if he had any sac or really cared about the film he'd stick his head out there and take his medicine like a man.

 

[tomandshell]

If this whole situation isn't resolved soon, it might threaten to finally spoil Alan Moore's rosy view of Hollywood.

 

[IrishJedi]

If this whole situation isn't resolved soon, it might threaten to finally spoil Alan Moore's rosy view of Hollywood.

Yeah, really.

 

[Darklord Dave]

So he's claiming that his lawyer wasn't sent the document that has caused this whole morass? A document that Gordon must have known existed because he signed at the time.

He's being made the villain of the whole thing because he's contributed to the confusion. But it seems like it's been a lot of carelessness on the part of Fox as well with not getting this document out there much sooner in the process. I'm thinking that they didn't even know what they had until well after the new package had been shopped around.

 

[IrishJedi]

So he's claiming that his lawyer wasn't sent the document that has caused this whole morass? A document that Gordon must have known existed because he signed at the time.

He's being made the villain of the whole thing because he's contributed to the confusion. But it seems like it's been a lot of carelessness on the part of Fox as well with not getting this document out there much sooner in the process. I'm thinking that they didn't even know what they had until well after the new package had been shopped around.

It sounds like they didn't even know it then, if what Levin said is accurate.

Seriously, Fox is just clueless.

 

[tomandshell]

A nice surprise!!

Studios Say Watchmen Settlement Talks Productive
Source: The Associated Press January 9, 2009


Attorneys for rival studios fighting over the release of Watchmen told a federal judge on Friday that they're having fruitful settlement talks, reports The Associated Press.

Attorneys for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. asked the judge to delay a hearing Friday so those discussions can continue over the weekend.

U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess agreed to continue the hearing but says a trial over whether to block the film's March release is still set for Jan. 20.

Lou Karasik, who is representing Fox, told Feess that the delay would be "very, very helpful" to settlement discussions he deemed "productive."

Friday's revelation surprised Feess, who noted that Warner Bros. had been seeking to move up the Jan. 20 trial to next week, citing the film's marketing campaign and its March 6 release date.

Fox sued in February to stop the release of Watchmen, claiming Warner Bros. violated its interests by filming the tale. Feess agreed last month that Fox appears to have the right to distribute the film.

 

[IrishJedi]

A deal has been reached "in principle", but it needs to be ironed out and finalized over the weekend. If that happens, I imagine Fox will drop the suit and the judge will cancel the hearing scheduled for 1/20 and it would be done.

 

[CelticPredator]

I blame Ozzy for this.

 

[IrishJedi]

I blame Ozzy for this.

Ozzy Osbourne?

Ozymandias?

The country of Australia?

 

[Darklord Dave]

Ozzy Osbourne?

Ozymandias?

The country of Australia?

too right.

 

[IrishJedi]

The latest from the NY Times with some good detail.

Studios Try to Settle ‘Watchmen’ Dispute

By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Published: January 9, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox are moving toward a settlement of their bitter legal battle over rights to the superhero film “Watchmen,” lawyers for both sides said at a hearing here on Friday morning.

The film has already been shot, at a cost of about $130 million, and Warner Brothers, which made the movie in partnership with Legendary Pictures and Paramount Pictures, is planning to release it on March 6. But even before shooting began, Fox stepped forward, saying it actually owned the rights to the dark, highly regarded graphic novel on which the film was based.

Louis A. Karasik, a lawyer for Fox, which filed suit last year, said that the studios in recent days had had “exchanges on the subject of resolution that have been productive.” Earlier, court-mandated settlement talks had failed, and the studios were headed for a showdown over Fox’s bid to block Warner from releasing the film.

The court fight has had considerable spectacle value for Hollywood, where major studios have seldom pushed each other quite so hard over a movie that stood so close to release.

Federal District Judge Gary A. Feess ruled here last month that Fox owned distribution rights to the movie, stemming from its 1980s acquisition of the graphic novel, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.

Mr. Karasik, joined by lawyers for Warner, had asked a court clerk on Friday if the judge would conduct a hearing in chambers, because they planned to discuss what he called “settlement issues.” The clerk conferred with Judge Feess, then returned to say that the judge would insist on a session open to the public. In a brief status conference, the parties agreed to defer further issues in the case until a hearing on Monday afternoon.

Warner has been struggling to clear up uncertainty around the fate of “Watchmen,” to open the way for a marketing campaign that must soon begin if the audience at large is to connect with a film that has long been considered a difficult proposition.

“Watchmen” is about the tawdry life of superheroes who have been rejected by their society. The movie version has been eagerly anticipated by fans of the original work, who consider it one of the defining titles of contemporary comics history, but the film will need a much bigger audience to justify its cost.

Directed by Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind the 2007 hit “300,” “Watchmen” is rated R, posing an extra challenge for the studios. Superhero blockbusters like the “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” films have typically carried a less restrictive rating.

The prospect of an injunction blocking the March release has angered fans, who have widely criticized Fox on the Internet. And it provoked an unusual open letter from Lloyd Levin, one of the “Watchmen” producers. Posted on Thursday on the hitfix.com entertainment news Web site, the letter called on Fox to “stand down with its claim” for the sake of “the hundreds of people” who were involved in making the film.

Responding to that letter in a statement, Fox pointed out that it had notified Warner of its rights to the film well before production began in 2007.

Spokesmen for Fox and Warner each declined on Friday to discuss the terms of a possible settlement, and a lawyer for Lawrence Gordon, another of the “Watchmen” producers, did not respond to queries.

It appeared likely that the companies would find some way to keep the movie on track while giving Fox a stake in it. But where that stake would come from remained unclear.

In a bizarre twist in the case, a lawyer for Mr. Gordon — who is not a defendant in Fox’s lawsuit — on Wednesday tried to send Judge Feess a letter explaining Mr. Gordon’s refusal, under another lawyer’s instructions, to answer some questions during a deposition.

Judge Feess had publicly criticized that refusal. Wednesday’s letter, written by Mr. Gordon’s lawyer Patricia A. Millett, challenged what it called “a misrepresentation of the record that has subjected Mr. Gordon to significant public scorn.”

Judge Feess returned the letter unread, but it was distributed to others involved with the case and became public.

The film’s tangled legal background resulted, in part, from years of failed attempts to shape the famous illustrated story into an audience-friendly film.

With a resolution of legal issues, the major question remaining would be one that has hung over “Watchmen” for more than 20 years: are viewers finally ready for heroes who are decidedly unheroic?

 

[cerebus23]

January 9, 2009 - Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox are reportedly making progress on talks to settle their legal feud over the rights to Watchmen.

According to both Associated Press and Variety, lawyers for the warring studios have asked U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess to delay a hearing that was to be held today so that they can continue settlement talks through the weekend. The judge agreed to delay the hearing until Monday, and also informed the studios that the case remains scheduled to go to trial January 20.

Today's hearing was to have yielded Judge Feess' ruling on whether he'd grant Fox's request to block Warners' March 6th release date for Watchmen.

Meanwhile, Fox has fired back at Watchmen producer Lloyd Levin, who issued an open letter yesterday slamming the studio's lawsuit. In a statement picked up by Deadline Hollywood Daily, Fox responded, "We appreciate Mr. Levin's passion for this project, but he has neglected basic facts and legal rulings. First, Fox notified Warner Bros of our rights in this project months before production on the film began -- they chose to ignore our rights on this occasion and several times after that and proceeded at their own risk; 2) only after having our rights in the film deliberately ignored by Warner Bros. did we take the action of filing litigation in order to have those rights recognized; and 3) on Judge Feess' Christmas Eve order, he specifically ruled that WB had been timely notified and that Fox, in fact, had the rights we asserted. There is no question of who is right and who is wrong. That has been decided through the litigation that we had hoped to avoid, and we refer interested parties to the court's ruling to confirm these statements."

Levin's producing partner on Watchmen, Lawrence Gordon, has been cited by Judge Feess as the instigator of all the film's legal troubles after Feess said that Gordon, who isn't a defendant in the case, failed to adequately answer questions about the film rights' chain of ownership during depositions. Now Gordon has sent a letter to the judge, details of which can be found at The Hollywood Reporter.

not to stop the one sided fox bashing or anything....

 

[Darklord Dave]

January 9, 2009 - Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox are reportedly making progress on talks to settle their legal feud over the rights to Watchmen.

According to both Associated Press and Variety, lawyers for the warring studios have asked U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess to delay a hearing that was to be held today so that they can continue settlement talks through the weekend. The judge agreed to delay the hearing until Monday, and also informed the studios that the case remains scheduled to go to trial January 20.

Today's hearing was to have yielded Judge Feess' ruling on whether he'd grant Fox's request to block Warners' March 6th release date for Watchmen.

Meanwhile, Fox has fired back at Watchmen producer Lloyd Levin, who issued an open letter yesterday slamming the studio's lawsuit. In a statement picked up by Deadline Hollywood Daily, Fox responded, "We appreciate Mr. Levin's passion for this project, but he has neglected basic facts and legal rulings. First, Fox notified Warner Bros of our rights in this project months before production on the film began -- they chose to ignore our rights on this occasion and several times after that and proceeded at their own risk; 2) only after having our rights in the film deliberately ignored by Warner Bros. did we take the action of filing litigation in order to have those rights recognized; and 3) on Judge Feess' Christmas Eve order, he specifically ruled that WB had been timely notified and that Fox, in fact, had the rights we asserted. There is no question of who is right and who is wrong. That has been decided through the litigation that we had hoped to avoid, and we refer interested parties to the court's ruling to confirm these statements."

Levin's producing partner on Watchmen, Lawrence Gordon, has been cited by Judge Feess as the instigator of all the film's legal troubles after Feess said that Gordon, who isn't a defendant in the case, failed to adequately answer questions about the film rights' chain of ownership during depositions. Now Gordon has sent a letter to the judge, details of which can be found at The Hollywood Reporter.

not to stop the one sided fox bashing or anything....

However Fox can't deny that long before they sent notification of infringement to WB, they told the producer of the project that they had no interest in making this movie when they passed on the new package Gordon presented, one that Fox ostensibly owned. Despite what is "right" in the eyes of the law - their statement that "there is no question of who is right and who is wrong" is wrong.

 

[cerebus23]

true, but not like fox wanted to stop the film outright, just wanted a cut of the distribution rights, which by all accounts they notified them of. else they would have dragged them into court long before this.

tho there MIGHT be some gamesmanship here where fox wanted to have their cake and eat it to, send a notification of rights early then hold off till production was done, then file with a valid claim, get a film made wo any money invested by them, if the film is a mega hit they get a cut and no money invested, other than some court costs.

hard to say this kinda law is a complete mystery to me and most people i think its safe to say how distribution, production etc rights work and how these contracts are drawn up.

tho lets also say there many die hard core fans of the book that bristled of any mention of this movie and cries about how this novel could never be made into a decent film, more on the hardcore film and comic sites then here but there is a sizable faction that i think would be happy to keep their books and no film ever be made.

 

[IrishJedi]

Posted this in the other thread, but will put it here as well...

Lawrence Gordon, prepare to cover thy bum, you moron. In the end, it looks like the film will still come out March 6th... Warners will retain control, Fox will get their money, and then WB will take whatever that ends up being right out of Gordon's ass:

Feud over 'Watchmen' could prove damaging to producer Larry Gordon

By John Horn | L.A. Times

January 13, 2009

The court fight over "The Watchmen" is costing Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but the biggest bill of all could fall to the film's producer, Larry Gordon, his lawyers and their insurers, who could be on the hook for substantially more money.

Court documents in the nearly yearlong dispute over the superhero movie's distribution rights show that Warner Bros., which is poised to lose valuable rights to "Watchmen" after a judge's favorable ruling for Fox, is pursuing Gordon "for all damages Warner Bros. suffers as a result of Fox's claims."

The $130-million budget "Watchmen," adapted from the popular graphic novel of the same name, is anticipated to be one of the biggest movie releases of the spring when it opens March 6. But because of the litigation, Warner Bros. may not be able to collect all of the film's proceeds.

Two people familiar with the dispute said that those Warner Bros. damages could potentially total tens of millions of dollars. Among the possible settlement terms under discussion is a deal in which Fox could end up with as much as 8.5% of "Watchmen's" gross receipts, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. "Watchmen" director Zack Snyder's last film for Warner Bros., 2007's "300," grossed more than $456 million in worldwide ticket sales.

It is unclear whether Gordon has initiated an insurance claim against the law firm that negotiated his "Watchmen" deal with Warner Bros., but Gordon has said in a letter that the same lawyers may have made "a unilateral mistake" as part of an earlier deal involving the film's rights.

Dale Kinsella, Gordon's litigation counsel, declined to comment, as did Warner Bros. Jake Bloom and Tom Hunter, lawyers at the firm that handled Gordon's "Watchmen" negotiations with Fox and Warner Bros., did not return telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment Monday.

Lawyers for the studios appeared in court Monday but did not announce that they had settled the case. Another hearing is scheduled for today.

One of Hollywood's most colorful and cantankerous producers, Gordon helped usher in the modern action movie franchise, with credits on "Die Hard," "48 Hrs." and "Predator." The former Fox studio chief has labored to make a movie based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' groundbreaking "Watchmen" graphic novel for decades.

The film's tortured path to the screen is at the center of the copyright lawsuit between Fox and Warner Bros.

Fox sued Warner Bros. in February, arguing that Fox controlled the film's distribution rights because of two "Watchmen" deals it made with Gordon in 1991 and 1994. The pacts, Fox maintained, obligated any "Watchmen" producer other than Fox, including Gordon, to notify Fox and obtain its rights before making a film.

U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess said in a Dec. 24 ruling that Gordon never obtained from Fox the "Watchmen" rights he conveyed to Warner Bros. in 2006, additionally finding that Fox actually owns the rights to distribute the film.

The judge's ruling has given Fox considerable leverage in negotiating a settlement. If Fox does not like the settlement terms offered by Warner Bros. it could pursue an order from Feess that would block Warner Bros. from distributing the potential blockbuster as planned.

The judge has postponed hearing testimony on such an order while the studios try to resolve the dispute out of court.

Although Warner Bros. has long insisted that Fox's case was meritless and sought to have the case dismissed, the studio stated in court papers that Gordon or his lawyers may have failed to give Warner Bros. the proper documentation about "Watchmen's" rights in a timely fashion when the production was coming together.

The studio said in a filing Dec. 8 that Warner Bros. "never received the very documents upon which Fox asserts its claims" until a year after the studio believed it had acquired its rights from Gordon. Furthermore, Warner Bros. said, Gordon's attorneys did not alert the studio "that it should contact Fox."

Feess has been unimpressed with Gordon's conduct during the litigation, saying in an unusual and harsh footnote to his Dec. 24 ruling that because Gordon repeatedly invoked attorney-client privilege during a deposition, he was no longer free to offer any additional evidence on the copyright dispute.

In a letter Wednesday to Feess, Gordon tried to correct the judge's thinking, with lawyer Patricia Millett saying that Gordon had suffered "significant public scorn" from the lawsuit. In that letter Gordon complained that the 1994 deal that has governed the case was either the result of "a mutual mistake by both parties [Fox and Gordon], or a unilateral mistake made by his counsel, on which Mr. Gordon relied."

Saying the letter violated court rules, the judge returned it to Millett unread.

Sounds fair to me.

 

[CelticPredator]

Ozzy Osbourne?

Ozymandias?

The country of Australia?