Fox Attempting To Halt ‘Watchmen’

Here’s an update to the story that Jeremy first brought you on Christmas…According to the Associated Press:

  An attorney for 20th Century Fox says the studio will press its case to delay the release of “Watchmen,” but a rival studio says it plans to release the film as scheduled.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess last week agreed with Fox that Warner Bros. had infringed its copyright by developing and shooting the superhero flick, casting some doubt on its March 6 release date. Feess said Monday he plans to hold a trial Jan. 20 to decide remaining issues.

Fox claims it never fully relinquished story rights for the graphic novel from its deal made in the late 1980s, and sued Warner Bros. in February. Warner Bros. contended Fox isn’t entitled to distribution.Warner Bros. said in a statement released Monday afternoon that it won’t move the movie’s release date and still thinks it will win the case, either at trial or through an appeal.

Warner Bros just issued this statement…

“We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the Court’s ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options. We continue to believe that Fox’s claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals. We have no plans to move the release date of the film.†

For my two cents, WB should’ve never rolled on this movie (nevermind the major screw-up by Warner Bros. legal eagles)…and why on earth did they ever show footage of it at Comic-Con? WB knew damn well they were being sued over the rights by Fox before the first frame of film was shot. And this lawsuit was started over a year ago….So why is everyone pissin’ and moanin’?…Fox didn’t just try to stop the release a mere two weeks ago. Still – I can’t wait to see what Zack Snyder has in store for us and hope the film is released in March.

Source: The Associated Press