Nikki Finke, in her Deadline Hollywood column, reports that a federal judge has denied a Warner Bros motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox's legal battle over the rights to develop, produce and distribute a film based on the graphic novel 'Watchmen'.
Fox had filed a suit on February 12th of this year, seeking to prevent Warner Bros from going forward with the project, even though production was well underway at that point. Warner had motioned to dismiss the lawsuit, which was based on an intricate chain of custody agreements dating back to 1986.
According to Finke, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allen Feess agrees (at least initially) with Fox's claim. The studio could now seek an injunction against Warner Bros, which would obviously prove catastrophic for a movie that is this close to completion, and for which the stuido has already spent vast sums of money promoting.
The timing of Fox's lawsuit is likely intentional. Such claims are usually made when the studio is "all in," that is during or after the completion of production but before a film is released. At this point Warner is desparate to protect its investment, so the probability of a settlement with Fox is much more likely. Had Fox filed the suit a year earlier, Warner might have simply balked at moving forward with the film.
Finke's write-up goes in depth into explaining the details of Fox's claim, and also provides a detailed timeline of events. Click through for some interesting reading...
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