The case does not even enter court until sometime in January, but on the eve of Christmas a judge released a five page written order granting Fox copyright interest in the Watchmen film shot by Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures. This does not bode well for the release of the film and messing with that date is not a good thing. The news of this ruling comes from The New York Times.
Back in the 1980s, Fox bought the rights to make a film adaptation of the comic, which they took to Lawrence Gordon. The project fell through and Gordon went to Paramount and finally Warner Brothers where it was eventually shot. It was believed that Gordon held the rights when Warner bought them from him. Fox kept quiet the whole time, letting the film get made and promotion get started before speaking up and claiming they owned the copyright. Fox went to the courts, seeking to stop the pending March release. The issue gets even a little more complicated as Paramount is still involved as the overseas distributor.
I truly hope that something can get worked out as what I have seen of the movie looks absolutely spectacular. The movie is truly one of the most anticipated features of 2009. I think it is going to come down to money. I do not believe anyone wants the film to sit on the shelf, so the big question will be who gets how much of the pot.
Inglourious Basterds has a Release Date
Coming Soon.net is reporting that the new Quentin Tarantino film has a release date. Inglourious Basterds will be arriving in theaters around the nation on August 21, 2009. It is a date that cannot come to soon, although I have to wonder if the picture will actually be released at that time (more on that below).
I am a fan of Tarantino's work and do not believe that he has made a bad film yet, I just wish he was a little bit more prolific. Of course I guess I should not complain, it is quite likely that if he produced more work the overall quality of his films would go down.
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