Who'll be watching the Watchmen...?

[dianeduane]

— if Fox has its way? A federal judge has denied Warner Bros.’ motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox’s current lawsuit against it, claiming that Fox still owns rights in the Watchmen project dating back to the 1990’s. And the release of “Watchmen” is presently scheduled for March ‘09.

This one could get very messy. (Side thought: did somebody at Warner neglect to sacrifice a goat to the Movie Gods this year? Or did the statute of limitations run out on that particular goat, maybe a few weeks after “The Dark Knight” premiered? They haven’t been having a very good month, what with one thing and another… ETA: Variety's discussion of this situation suggests they haven't had a very good six months.) But Nikki Finke suggests:

…The court is still contemplating Fox's motion for an injunction. This is indeed a stunning development which could imperil Warner Bros' entire 2009 movie slate. Sources point out to me that Warner Bros had a similar problem with the Dukes Of Hazzard movie before Judge Feess and had to pay tens of millions of dollars to release the film.

(wry look) And here’s an idle thought:  You have to wonder if the angry prayers of hundreds of thousands of cranked-off Harry Potter fans have suddenly been half-answered. What does Warner do if it can’t release Watchmen in March ‘09?  Well, how about plugging “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” into the gap? March ‘09 wouldn’t be November ‘08, but it wouldn’t be July ‘09 either…

Tags: 20th+Century+Fox, Warner+Bros., Watchmen, Alan+Moore, graphic+novel, Harry+Potter, Half-Blood+Prince

Comments

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Or just one cranked-off Harry Potter fan whose father, or uncle, or brother happens to be a federal judge, and consequently isn't feeling well-disposed enough towards WB to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Interesting theories, both. One seems simpler than the other, both being somewhat plausible...

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering if maybe WB moved HP in the first place because they think there's a chance they might not be able to release Watchmen next year.

Of course, I'm a cranked-off Watchmen fan who thinks that Zack Snyder should never have been allowed to touch the project in the first place, so it's no skin off my nose.

[tarpo.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you have been asked this a ton, and if so ignore me. Do you see a noticable bump in Young Wizards sales when each potter book/movie comes out? I started feeding the first YW books to my girlfriends 10 year old daughter because I knew them inside and out and felt they would be a better place to start before I dropped her into the HP books. She never did get through the first HP book but really enjoyed your books.

eesh.. got fanboyish there for a second.. anyway.. just wondering

[dduane.livejournal.com]

I have thought I've seen a bump after new HP material comes out, but I haven't really sat down to do a serious enough analysis to see if the figures bear out my personal impressions (which could be biased one way or the other). Also, we're only now in a situation which isn't complicated by having HP material come out in a couple of different forms at different times in a given year.

(sigh) I'll have a look at it in '09 sometime. (Though I have to be careful to do this before news of any Young Wizards movie gets out, because that would skew the figures...) :)

[tarpo.livejournal.com]

Like say.. if that last line was quoted out of context and sent casually to some websites :)

[dduane.livejournal.com]

Yes, well, let's not do that just yet. :)

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

Even though I'm looking forward to both movies (eventually)and am not particularly happy about all this chaos surrounding their release, there's still a certain train-wreck fascination to it that's starting to get downright entertaining. :D

[insanitys-place.livejournal.com]

When it rains it pours in WB land doesn't it?

[handworn.livejournal.com]

The question is, would the movie Gods appreciate a goat being sacrificed to them? "Goodness, you sacrificed a smelly, ugly omnivore that almost no one in LaLa Land values, to Us. We are Not Impressed. Your firstborn project, or nothing."