You know how Santa Claus gives lumps of coal on Christmas Eve to those who’ve been very, very naughty? Well, so do judges. Read the full post.
Dec 26
2008
06:12 PM ET
Judge In 'Watchmen' Case Rules For Fox; Fans Brace For Fallout
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Allowing WB to make the movie without authorization was a very savvy economic decision by Fox. As a business rule, Fox always takes the path of least resistance v. highest profits. Think about it: Fox makes tons of money on salacious TV and low-brow humor and all the profits go toward advancing its right-wing agenda. Brilliant! Fox’s Watchmen legal fees will be far outweighed by the money it will make riding on WB’s coat tails. Fox never would have spent the money and care on the flick that WB did. Watch for the terms of the settlement; if Fox goes for a percentage of the take rather than a flat amount, you can bet it’s going to be a blockbuster. Watchmen fans should rejoice–the movie Fox would have made, if ever, would have been total crap. Left wingers should tap into the Fox business model. Except I don’t know how much more low-brow they could go.
Why is everyone mad at Fox? They asked the WB lawyers to stop and buy them out before the movie was made. WB didn’t. Why should Fox waste their time and money on work stoppage injunctions and all that? If I owned a piece of land and someone started building a house on it, I’d tell them it’s my land and to stop. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t waste my money on court fees and injunctions, I’d let them build the house then when they’re done say, “Guess what…remember when I said it’s my land? It still is. Thanks for the house.” lmao.
“Yes, many of them have been huge hits (X-Men; X-Men 3; Fantastic Four)”
I’ll give him the fist X-Men, but despite how much money they may or may not have made, X3 and FF were absolutely *horrible* and did *not* make fans happy.
Here’s how I see it:
Regardless of Alan Moore’s disdain for this fact: DC/WB owns Watchmen. I realize that licensing contracts create numerous legal hassles, but the endgame is that Warner Brothers owns the property — Fox is entitled to a little bit of the take because they were sniffing around the bone early on, but since they didn’t move on it in time, they lose.
I realize this spits in the face of corporate reality, but it’s hard to see how Fox will get anything more than a few coins for this battle. My feeling is that the Judge’s ruling will do nothing more than compel Warners to settle. The Judge played right into Fox’s hands, and they’ll get the payoff they’ve wanted all along.
Now that the logical argument is out of the way:
My feeling is that Rupert Murdoch’s devotion to Conservativism is so rabid, he will not allow a movie to exist that open criticizes the Nixon administration and all of its corrupt machinations that move the plot of the movie along.
I’m MOSTLY kidding.
Sounds like Warners messed up. However, I’m not a fan of Fox’s handling of superhero films, so if I hear they mess with the edit of WATHCMEN, I’ll boycott their films. Even WOLVERINE.
I hope the Watchman movie never sees the light of day. It is the most over-rated graphic novel in comics history. Alan Moore is a self-important asswipe who never understood the noble and heroic nature of the comics medium.
I’d love to hear just how one goes about “impeaching” a film exactly. That must be a fascinating process.
Many have said “why would you make this movie when you knew there would be problems with FOX and the contracts?” The answer is obvious. Look at all the pre-release publicity this is giving the movie! The eventual settlement will cost less than the advertising needed to produce this much ‘excitement’ about the movie and make it a must-see.
I could care less about the Watchmen movie. It looks dark, depressing, and not much more appealing than ‘The Spirit.’ But the shrewd monetary wisdom of FOX to sit back and watch Warner Brothers finance this expensive film, then swoop in to claim their rights to the film at the last hour is classic! Too funny! Poor WB seems to be getting used and abused not only by FOX but also by CBS which suppossedly jilted them out of tens of millions with its 2 1/2 Men show.
I actually want to see “Watchmen.” The
trailers have been fascinating. Nothing about the trailers for (or anything I’ve read about) “The Spirit” makes me want to see that sure-to-be-a-mess of a movie. This issue is one of greed, pure and simple. Fox didn’t care until some one got a look at the almost finished product and said “Man, how stupid were we to let this get away?!” Warners has always had the superior track-record with the genre, though franchises like ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Hellboy’ and ‘Iron Man’ prove there is room for plenty of good Superhero films from other studios. Fox’s sour-grapes will not just disgruntle the fanboys, but lots of other audiences who will see any attempt by Fox to block the film’s release, as nothing less than antagonistic.
To Impeach Obama:
You’re an idiot. Since when does a nearly 25 year old graphic novel have anything to do with Obama? Oh, the cleaners called, your linens for the next KKK rally are ready…
I really hope they don’t delay this film. I am really looking froward to when it comes out. I got chills when I saw the trailer and I heard Rorschach say this http://www.entertonement.com/clips/46226/Retribution
Copyright law is so fascist these days, it doesn’t matter what he rules. The movie studios won’t be happy until you pay them a fee every single time you turn on a tv and or decide to watch a movie (on your tv). Maybe they will outlaw libraries too.
Looks like the only winners in this mess are the lawyers.
Gads, this whole situation seems like an episode of Entourage at this point. FOX is one of the scummier corps in Hollywood, so their move here doesn’t surprise me in the least. What surprises me is how many people keep working with them.