The battle for the US Copyright of Predator between the original creators Jim & John Thomas and 20th Century Studios took an interesting turn today, when a Motion Hearing (expected to be a dispute over a preliminary injunction which would halt new Disney-era Predator content from continuing until all legal disputes were resolved) instead became a dispute over where the case belonged.
Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler opened the hearing opposite Daniel M. Petrocelli (legal council for Disney/20th Century Studios) and Marc Toberoff (legal council representing the Thomas Brothers) wanting to hear why the case belonged in her district. As best as we could ascertain, similar or duplicate lawsuits by both parties were also filed in the Central District Court, the area where the contract agreement between the Thomas Brothers and 20th Century Fox originally took place (for the rights to the “Hunters” spec script back in 1986.)
Legal representation for 20th Century Studios argued that the Central district (not there in the Northern district) was actually the proper venue for this matter. They also believed the case should be dismissed, due to the improper duplicate filing.
But legal representation for the Thomas Brothers asked the Judge to rethink this position. Marc Toberoff argued that entertainment cases were a dime a dozen in Central District, and because of that, the courts are more congested. This argument seemed to imply that if the case was moved there, it would take a longer amount of time to be resolved. Also Toberoff argued (among other things) that this copyright case was not a location specific case, plus it would get the attention it deserved if it was heard in in the Northern district.
Additional support for both parties’ arguments were previously filed but not discussed in this hearing.
So what happens now? The Judge decided not to immediately make a decision, but rather take the matter under submission and make her decision at a later date.
I wanted to post about the Watchmen TV series on AVP Galaxy & this is what I could find.
I enjoyed the series. It is pushy with its message but I got used to it. Also, such a topic (put in a blunt way) is not new to science fiction whether from Deep Space 9 all the way back to Star Trek TOS, where the sci-fi genre can have a clear message of social justice.
While Terminator: Dark Fate bombed in terms of box office, the Watchmen TV series was a ratings success and it received 4 Primetime Emmy Awards and 7 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. So, I don't agree that the Watchmen TV series was "dogshit" in terms of the skill in how it was put together & how it connected with the original Watchmen material.
As for the original topic, we are talking about Disney here. With action/adventure, Disney cares about Marvel & Star Wars because that's where the most money is.
With the possible Predator movie, I would appreciate if anything new Predator or Alien related comes out of Disney. That would be better than nothing imo.
True, although I imagine if his estate had been able to use this provision Fox might've been much quicker sorting it out
I believe you're thinking residual payments (if negotiated), where licensing fees tend to be a bigger chunk of the pie and paid out even if it doesn't make a profit.
Yep! Learning that this relatively new law was for transfered copyrights 1978-present, and O'Bannon apparently sold Alien prior to that.
Do you mean the required meeting of both parties that California law requires prior to the Case Management Conference? If so yes, it's designed as a forum to hopefully work out their differences independently of the Court. It definitely gives them an opportunity to settle, if they can and are willing to come to an agreement. That's the million dollar question S.I.!
EDIT
I say this assuming they didn't sign something giving them royalties for just a few years, as you'd expect that to have been mentioned in the court filings.
Which bullet? Alien was too early to be eligible for this provision. Or do you mean something else?
If Disney gets their way, I hope Skulls is a big success. Because if it fails, I can see Disney being in no rush to strike a deal / fine with letting the property languish in perpetuity.
Man, Alien fans hungry for new content don't know the apparent bullet they dodged...
The Brothers have nothing to gain by not renegotiating, though, so it's not like a deal is inconceivable either.
This is to the root of my fear for Predator and AvP the inevitable day the Thomas Brothers do get the US Copyright back, skhellter. It's easy to take things personally, especially after Fox/Disney waiting four years to reject the Thomas Bros' *termination letter for errors. Sometimes the animus is so bad, the question becomes how is anyone going to work together after all this? Because reclaiming just the Hunters license only in the US means they will have to work together for "Predator" to continue.
* corrected word edit
without dragging them through lengthy painful bureaucracy.
Looks like a lawyer exploring avenues to give their client the best opportunities.
THR reporting this as an early advantage for Disney. Apparently the Judge is set to side with Disney in regards to where this should be filed.
IMO lawyers for the Bros. already stumbling and filing in the wrong district with silly justification.
Ironically, having a film tied up in legal limbo gives the Brothers more bargaining power than they would have otherwise.
If the injunction is passed, we have an answer - no content until the matter is settled. If it's not passed, we pretty much also have an answer - keep on trucking until the matter is settled. TCS has already shown they're gonna keep trucking along until they're legally forced to stop.
F13 was a messier case of whether the provision was even allowed to be invoked. The issue here seems a bit clearer-cut -- did they make an error on their earliest filing or not. If they did, TCS and Disney have until 2023 to renegotiate.
The important matter here would be whether or not content is allowed to be made even if this does drag on for years. Well, at least until 2023. This is such a frustrating mess because we don't have any definitives here, only speculations. At least with F13 you KNOW content can't be made, at least under the Jason Voorhees name. Here it's a "will they/won't they" be allowed to keep making Predator content during this lawsuit. Today we could have known, but it just seems like this judge didn't want to handle something of this nature. So possibly on to someone else, and now we're left wondering, if it does, how THEY may proceed in determining an injunction. The legal system can sometimes move slow, even when something requires immediate resolve. As someone mentioned, we may very well have SKULLS complete filming before we get an answer. And then it could be "well, the film won't see the light of day now" or "man, that was close, but here's the release date!"
I can't even imagine working under those conditions, knowing any time the proverbial shoe can drop. So stressful....
Unfortunately, I'm starting to get that vibe too, and it just makes me ill.
I guess things we find interesting is relative to us as individuals, but I don't believe reporting on any of this legal craziness is intended to impress you, to be honest. Rather just to inform.
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/2021/06/10/the-legal-battle-for-predator-takes-an-interesting-turn/