Watchmen case settled

Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox have settled their lawsuit over the distribution rights to Watchmen, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Of course neither side is talking, but as expected, Warner Bros. is going to have hand over a percentage of the film's receipts:

Terms of the agreement will not be disclosed, but it is said to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film's boxoffice. Fox will not be a co-distributor on the film, nor will it own a piece of the "Watchmen" property going forward. The studios are set to release a joint statement announcing the agreement Friday.

As this week progresses, it appeared more and more likely that this would be the end result of the dispute. Earlier this month, it looked like Warner Bros. was playing hard ball, requesting the judge speed up a hearing date to determine Fox's ability to delay the release. Shortly thereafter, however, lawyers stopped filed papers and the talks began in earnest.

Perhaps Warner Bros. decided it could easier to go after producer Larry Gordon for allegedly messing up the original agreement in the first place than fight Fox in the courts.

New Watchmen trial tidbits

The LA Times, which has been providing much of the coverage on dispute between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox over the distribution rights to The Watchmen, reported today that Producer Larry Gordon could ultimately be the biggest loser.

While none of the lawyers involved in the case are talking, the LA Times today quoted several sources about possible settlement deals:

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.

I've been saying for awhile that the most likely outcome would be some kind of settlement between the two studios in which Fox gets a cut of the receipts. It just will come down to Fox finding a bite small enough for Warner Bros. to find palatable.

What's interesting in today's LA Times article is the suggestion that WB may go after Gordon himself for at least part of their lost revenue, and he would in turn look at his insurance company:

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.

...

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.

It's quickly becoming apparent that the blame game is in full effect. Warner Bros. seems to be positioning itself to set up Gordon as the fall guy, saying that they were misinformed by Gordon's laywers. Gordon, on the other hand, is saying that the error was either a "mutual" error between himself and Fox, or a error on the part of his attorneys.

In a court filing dated Dec. 8, Warner Bros. said it "never received the very documents upon which Fox asserts its claims" until a year after they supposedly received the rights from Gordon. Warner Bros. also said Gordon's attorneys never alerted the studio they should contact Fox about the rights.

According to today's article, Gordon sent a letter to the judge--which was returned unread--stating the problem was either "a mutual mistake by both parties [Fox and Gordon], or a unilateral mistake made by his counsel, on which Mr. Gordon relied."

Meanwhile, everyone on the sidelines have to wait to see if the lawyers can save the day. Comforting thought, indeed.

Watchmen case close to settlement?

Although both sides in the ongoing feud between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox over the distribution rights to the upcoming Watchmen adaptation are refusing to comment on their talks, the New York Times' blogger Michael Cieply reported seeing the two studio heads mucking it up during last night's Golden Globes.

From where this reporter sat at the Golden Globes last night, that sure looked like Tom Rothman of Fox and Alan Horn of Warner Brothers down among the superstar seats, smiling and back-patting — each other, not the superstars — just before the show began. A public display of affection between studio chiefs, along with those pricey “Watchmen” ads on the National Football League playoff games this weekend, would add up to a message as big as the Hollywood sign: The talks between hitherto warring Fox and Warner over a settlement of Fox’s lawsuit over rights to “Watchmen” must be on track.

The Times' Carpetbagger blog usually just reports the the up and downs of award season, so it remains to be seen how much truth there is in the assumptions Cieply made. He is correct, however--as I've said as well--that it makes sense for both sides to want a quick settlement to this case so they reap the rewards of what could be big hit come this March.

Producer speaks out on Watchmen case

It's been a busy weekfor the Watchmen case between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Settlement talks between lawyers from both parties have been "productive," according to the Associated Press.

The real bombshell, however, came yesterday with an open letter from Watchmen producer Lloyd Levin, published at HitFix, which takes Fox to task for sitting on the project for years only to come after Warner Bros. now. He also praises Warner Bros. for taking a risk in funding the production of an expensive, "hard R" rated adaptation with no stars and a $100-plus million budget.

Now here's the part that has to be fully appreciated, if for nothing more than providing insight into producing movies in Hollywood: The Watchmen script was way above the norm in length, near 150 pages, meaning the film could clock in at close to 3 hours, the movie would not only be R rated but a hard R - for graphic violence and explicit sex - would feature no stars, and had a budget north of $100M. We also asked Warner Brothers to support an additional 1 to 1.5 hours of content incurring additional cost that would tie in with the movie but only be featured in DVD iterations of the film. Warner's supported the whole package and I cannot begin to emphasize how ballsy and unprecedented a move this was on the part of a major Hollywood studio. Unheard of. And would another studio in Hollywood, let alone a studio that didn't show one shred of interest in the movie, not one, have taken such a risk? Would they ever have made such a commitment, a commitment to a film that defied all conventional wisdom?

Only the executives at Fox can answer that question. But if they were to be honest, their answer would have to be "No."

Shouldn't Warner Brothers be entitled to the spoils - if any -- of the risk they took in supporting and making Watchmen? Should Fox have any claim on something they could have had but chose to neither support nor show any interest in?

Be sure to read the full letter.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. asked the judge to make his decision as soon as Monday on the case. Now, according to the Associated Press report, the lawyers requested the judge delay a hearing scheduled for today to allow additional time for negotiations.

Judge to decide Watchmen dispute

The Los Angeles Times reported today a new development in the ongoing case between Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox over who has the rights to distribute the comic book adaptation of Watchmen.

According to the Times, lawyers for both sides have agreed to allow the judge overseeing the case decide if Warner Bros. can release the film.

In court papers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, attorneys for Fox and Warner Bros. jointly said they would let the judge decide Jan. 20 whether Fox could block the film's theatrical distribution, now scheduled for March 6, as Fox has been seeking all along as part of its copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros.
FULL STORY

This case has been making fans sweat for awhile, but this probably good news. Of course it will depend on the ruling, and the likelihood of an appeal regardless of a decision is pretty high.

If the judge rules in favor of Warner Bros., without an injunction from an appeals court, the release date should be safe, at least for a few weeks.

If the judge does rule in favor of Fox, expect a lot of negotiations. Fox would then have the big red button, and it would be in Warner Bros. best interest to work out a deal where Fox gets a cut from the profits. Since Fox didn't have to finance the movie's production, it's basically free money if they work out a deal.