Is anyone here following the "Friday the 13th" legal battle?
In a quick nutshell: Victor Miller (screenwriter of the first film) was apparently not invited back to write Part II by Sean Cunningham (Producer).
Fast-forward 35 years later - Miller filed a "Notice of Copyright Termination" to Cunningham to get his creation back. Cunningham, in turn, took him to court to try to stop him. Miller won rights within the USA to characters/settings from the JUST the first film, while Cunningham retained the remaining parts of the franchise. Cunningham then quickly filed an appeal - which meant the franchise status could be dragged out for YEARS.
But last month, Cunningham withdrew his appeal for "technical purposes," stating a better appeal could be filed - but he hasn't re-filed the appeal yet.
The deadline for Cunningham to refile the appeal is Close of Business TODAY.
Any thoughts on where this franchise will go? After the '09 "reboot-but-not really-a-reboot" misfire, coupled with the HUGE recent success of Horror franchises (Halloween, Us, etc.), a settlement/agreement sooner than later seems to make the most sense for all involved.
Especially considering Jason Voorhees is arguably the most iconic slasher villain in horror franchise history, you'd think they'd want to get this cash cow from "out to pasture," and back to raking in the dough.
It's a very interesting subject. Interested to hear my fellow film scribes' thoughts.
- Skunk
In a quick nutshell: Victor Miller (screenwriter of the first film) was apparently not invited back to write Part II by Sean Cunningham (Producer).
Fast-forward 35 years later - Miller filed a "Notice of Copyright Termination" to Cunningham to get his creation back. Cunningham, in turn, took him to court to try to stop him. Miller won rights within the USA to characters/settings from the JUST the first film, while Cunningham retained the remaining parts of the franchise. Cunningham then quickly filed an appeal - which meant the franchise status could be dragged out for YEARS.
But last month, Cunningham withdrew his appeal for "technical purposes," stating a better appeal could be filed - but he hasn't re-filed the appeal yet.
The deadline for Cunningham to refile the appeal is Close of Business TODAY.
Any thoughts on where this franchise will go? After the '09 "reboot-but-not really-a-reboot" misfire, coupled with the HUGE recent success of Horror franchises (Halloween, Us, etc.), a settlement/agreement sooner than later seems to make the most sense for all involved.
Especially considering Jason Voorhees is arguably the most iconic slasher villain in horror franchise history, you'd think they'd want to get this cash cow from "out to pasture," and back to raking in the dough.
It's a very interesting subject. Interested to hear my fellow film scribes' thoughts.
- Skunk
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