Clock Ticking For Superman Sequel
Written by Ian Cullen on July 10, 2009 – 9:35 am -
Some interesting developments came to light recently in the court case, which involves ownership of the creative rights for the character of Superman.
According to a report over at Variety the estate of Superman creators Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster will own the rights to Superman as of 2013, which means that Warner Bros have until then to make a sequel to their Superman Returns movie or essentially do something with the property before that date.
At present Warner have no script for a new Superman movie in development, but there has been much talk, which is often the case in Hollywood.
Should a script miraculously come to light. It is doubtful that Warner would be able to get a film out there any later than 2012. So things don’t look all that great for the franchise.
These details were revealed in a court ruling, which for most part seemed to fall in favour of Warner and their corporate sibling DC Comics in a suit filed by the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel. Here’s some of what the trade paper reported:
In a decision announced Wednesday, U.S. Judge District Court Judge Stephen G. Larson found that the license fees the studio paid to corporate sibling DC Comics didn’t represent “sweetheart” deals as they weren’t below fair market value. That means the heirs will be able seek profits only from DC Comics—which earned $13.6 million from Warner Brothers for the 2006 release of Superman Returns—rather than from Warner Brothers as well. …
The judge also set a Dec. 1 trial date for determining the allocation of profits to the heirs, who won a ruling last year from Larson that awarded them half the copyright for the Superman material. …
The judge, who conducted a 10-day bench trial, also noted that Warner Brothers chairman Alan Horn had testified that he hopes to make another Superman movie but added that the property wasn’t under development at the studio, that no script had been written and that the earliest another Superman pic could be released would be in 2012. …
Attorney Marc Toberoff, who represents heirs Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson, told Daily Variety that the judge had erred in not considering comparable licensing deals for best-selling novels penned by Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton and popular musicals such as My Fair Lady. …
Toberoff also asserted in a written statement that the Siegel heirs and the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster will own the entire Superman copyright in 2013.
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Tags: DC Comics, Jerome Siegel, Joe Shuster, Superman, Warner Bros
Posted in Comic Book Corner, Licensing, SF-TV & Movie News | 2 Comments »
By Sharon E. Dreyer on Jul 10, 2009 | Reply
This is a great article! Didn’t know that the rights for Superman were being fought over in the court system. Guess if there’s big money involved everyone wants a cut of the pie!
By Ian Cullen on Jul 10, 2009 | Reply
They have been fighting over them on and off for years. Just when you think its settled something else happens to have it kick off again. Invariably DC usually win out.