The Watchmen Movie Is Pretty Much Screwed

 

It's starting to look highly doubtful that the Watchmen movie is going to be able to be released on its original scheduled date of Match 6th.  Fox pictures has filed for a request that the trial for their lawsuit over the rights to release the Watchmen movie not start until June of next year.  That's right, June.  As in next summer.  Warner Brothers has requested the trial start in April.

 

Fox has stated before that they aren't out for a cut of the Watchmen's profits, and that they are only interested in blocking the film entirely from ever being released.  This move seems to fall in line with those goals.

 

Fox has said it will seek an injunction blocking Warner’s planned release of the film next March. Warner has argued that Fox should not be allowed to stop the movie, after standing by while Warner and its partners on the film, Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures, spent more than $100 million on the production, directed by Zack Snyder (300).

 

In a summary of its position in Friday’s report, Warner said Fox “sat silently” as one of the producers of “Watchmen,” Lawrence Gordon, took the project “to studio after studio with Fox’s express knowledge.”

 

Fox, which filed a lawsuit in February, has claimed in its own filings that Mr. Gordon did not keep the studio apprised of his plans, as required by a 1994 agreement. That deal granted Mr. Gordon rights to “Watchmen” in “turnaround” — an industry term for arrangements under which producers can move a project from one studio to another under certain conditions.

 

As things stand, unless by some miracle there is an out of court settlement in the next few months, it is looking like the Watchmen movie is on track for some serious delays.  If the case goes to trial we most likely won't be seeing the film released until next Fall, or even into 2010.  And that's only if Warner wins the rights to release it.  It is always possible that Fox will succeed in its goal of blocking the film's release.  If that happens we may never see the film.

 

If that horrible day does come though, let me personally go on record here and say Fuck Fox Pictures.  Fuck them long and fuck them hard, and do it without using any lube.

 

Original Story from NY Times (Link via Toplessrobot)

 

UPDATE:  It looks like the official court date has been set by the Judge to be January 6th.  So maybe there's some hope after all.