'Watchmen' settlement
The doomsday clock just stopped ticking....Michael Fleming over at Variety has the story on the settlement regarding Zack Snyder's adaptation of "Watchmen," the enduring 1980s comics masterpiece that just finished 2008 as the year's best-selling graphic novel.
Warner Bros. and Fox have settled their very public battle over "Watchmen." A deal has been hammered out that that gives WB some face-saving points, but which gives Fox the equivalent of a movie star’s gross participation.
Warner Bros. gets the right to open its superhero pic on March 6 as planned, and Fox's logo will not be on the film, sources said.
Fox, on the other hand, will emerge with an upfront cash payment that sources pegged between $5 million and $10 million, covering reimbursement of $1.4 million the studio invested in development fees, and also millions of dollars in legal fees incurred during the case.
More importantly, Fox will get a gross participation in "Watchmen" that scales between 5% and 8.5%, depending on the film’s worldwide revenues. Fox also participates as a gross player in any sequels and spinoffs, sources said.
A joint statement said, "Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have resolved their dispute regarding the rights to the upcoming motion picture "Watchmen" in a confidential settlement. Warner Bros. acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography.
Read the rest here.
-- Geoff Boucher
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Well, thank god that's over. I never found one of those Doomsday Clock date posters.
Posted by: AmbroseKalifornia | January 16, 2009 at 07:29 AM
The 'schach would be very angry about this. "Hell-o-o? Remember..? NEVER compromise, not even in the face of armageddon..this ringing a bell? It isn't *sometimes* compromise, people..sheesh, it's times like this that I'm glad I'm just vapor." (er..retroactive spoiler warning)
Posted by: Jackie | January 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM
it wasn't a graphic novel it was a 12 issue limited series monthly comic book. the collected issues in the various trade paperbacks and hardcover releases doesn't change that.
Posted by: sickofbadjournalism | February 06, 2009 at 07:13 AM