Jim and John Thomas suing Disney to reclaim Predator rights

Started by Kailem, Apr 16, 2021, 12:46:54 AM

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Jim and John Thomas suing Disney to reclaim Predator rights (Read 91,536 times)

SiL

There's actually some precedent for this in the Bond movie Never Say Never Again. The main Bond movies couldn't use Blofeld after On Her Majesty's Secret Service because the character's rights were tied to one of the producers of Thunderball, who also held the rights to that book.

So in the 80s to hold onto his rights he made his own unofficial Bond movie that's basically a remake of Thunderball featuring Blofeld, and got Connery back as Bond. It's not one of the official line, but it's a legal Bond movie made outside of the regular rights holder because the producer controlled certain related rights.

It's not quite the same, but we can see it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

Voodoo Magic

Quote from: XENOMORPHOSIS on Jul 29, 2021, 12:48:16 AM
Thing to consider would this mean Victor Miller can legally make a new film only in United States Domestic Territory called Friday the 13th that resembled the original film with Mrs Voorhees as the killer and no presences of Jason

whereas Horror Inc could do a new film WITH NO Friday the 13th in the title and a Hockey Masked Killer NOT REFERRED to as Jason?

And that 20th Century Studios an continue to do Predator movies whereas the Thomas Brothers can make a new film called HUNTERS which the titular Monsters resembling the original Jean-Claude Van Damme design?

If what 20th Century says holds true (where every Hunter(s) script rewrite was a work-for-hire and subsequently 20th Century was the author of said rewrites), than I believe the Thomas Brothers could only use the Jeanne-Claude Van Damme design *** IF *** it matched the creature's description in the very first spec screenplay that the Thomas Brothers wrote.  If that script instead describes an Alien Hunter say with four arms and very reptilian looking like the Nikita Knatz 1985 concept art, than I believe the Thomas Bros. could not use the JCVD worn design (which would fall under a 20th Century work-for-hire).



But yes, the Thomas Brothers would fully own their original Hunter(s) script and therefore could fully exploit it in the U.S. any way they see fit.

And we'll keep a close eye on Horror, Inc. (if they lose their appeal) and watch how they plan to proceed with exploring "new projects featuring settings and characters (including the hockey mask-wearing killer)".

Corporal Hicks

Well I can't imagine they'd be able to use the Boss designs (or the one above) unless they actually paid for it - which I can't imagine the Brothers did.

Voodoo Magic

No they couldn't use the actual suit, but theoretically, they could resemble the Boss Film Studio design as much as the script description resembles it. Meaning, if the spec description described the Boss Film Predator to a T, the Thomas Brothers could not be sued for physically recreating another manifestation of it. It was their conception.

But the chances the Thomas Brothers creature details were that robust in the spec script, and simultaneously fully realized precisely by Boss Film, is super doubtful.

Kradan


Voodoo Magic


Kradan

Never saw that one before

Voodoo Magic

Yeah, it's interesting. And perhaps it's the closest to that initial creature design the Thomas Brothers imagined, described in their first Hunter(s) script sold to 20th Century Studios. But since that screenplay is not in public circulation, we have no idea.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Clubroot

The early concept design looks more alien/reptile than the Rastafarian warrior hunter design that we all know and love . it would be interesting to see something made with that early concept idea. To me it looks more predator than predator lol and it gives off vibes of the creature devouring its prey to survive rather than collecting spines and skulls as a game.

SuperiorIronman

I remember seeing a custom toy of a multi arm Predator. Didn't look half bad.

*found it


I'm more into the idea of robotic arms but if presented right I'd totally be down for Goro regardless.

Voodoo Magic

We also got a Goro on the Hunting Reserve Planet.


Clubroot

Also reminds me of the Man Spider from the Spiderman animated series

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/8/8f/Man-Spider.png


Corporal Hicks

Sounds more like a technicality that anything.

SiL

The whole thing was based on a technicality.

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