By Patrick Luce Aug 19, 2008, 11:55 GMT
20th Century Fox is going to have its day in court after a judge denied Warner Bros. motion to dismiss a Fox lawsuit over Warner Bros. right to make a film version of the “Watchmen” graphic novel.
Variety reports the ruling could be seen as a victory for Fox and could give the studio a profit participant role in the film – which could potentially cost Warner’s millions if the film is a box office smash.
However, Fox’s legal team is reportedly not seeking a monetary ruling, but is hoping to stop the big-budget action film from being released at all. The film has been in development for about 20 years and finally made it to production in September with Zack Snyder handling directing duties.
WB is scheduled to open the film on March 6th - the same time frame as “300” was released. It stars Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earle Haley.
The Fox lawsuit was filed in February and contends the studio never ceded rights to the graphic novel penned by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and retained the rights through a 1991 claim, according to federal Judge Gary Allen Feess.
WB issued a statement: "It is our company’s policy not to comment on pending litigation and thus will not comment on the specifics of this case. That said, the court’s ruling simply means that the parties will engage in discovery and proceed with the litigation. The judge did not opine at all on the merits other than to conclude that Fox satisfied the pleading requirements. We respectfully disagree with Fox’s position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project."
The judge is looking to get the case in court quickly and has asked both legal parties to speed up the discovery process (which can take up to two years) due to the film being wrapped and ready for release in 2009. Fox has issued a statement that: "Warner Bros.’ production and anticipated release of ‘The Watchmen’ motion picture violates 20th Century Fox’s long-standing motion picture rights in ‘The Watchmen’ property."
The statement further said: "We will be asking the court to enforce Fox’s copyright interests in ‘The Watchmen’ and enjoin the release of the Warner Bros. film and any related ‘Watchmen’ media that violate our copyright interests in that property."
Fox reportedly spent more than $1 million developing a film version of "Watchmen" (which was called “The Watchmen” at the time), but had not sought any legal action against the film – which was also in development at Paramount a few years ago.
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