The legal fallout from 'Watchmen' continues next month as attorneys for Warner Bros. and producer Larry Gordon have agreed on a date to begin mediation over the question of legal responsibility for the famous dust-up with 20th Century Fox over the rights to the film.
Regular readers will recall that Fox laid claim to the film late last year and triggered a legal battle that eventually lead to them receiving a payout from Warner Bros in order to clear the release of the film.
According to The Hollywood Repoter, on May 13, representatives for Warner Bros and Gordon will meet for nonbinding mediation with Daniel Weinstein to determine if Gordon should pay a portion of the Fox settlement and, if so, how much.
In a December 2008 ruling on the matter, federal judge Gary Feess admonished Gordon's lack of cooperation in the hearings and suggested that the producer's vague testimony hampered Warners' case.
Warners is said to be seeking full reimbursment from Gordon, arguing that he failed to secure the rights properly before taking the project to them. Gordon's side is said to be arguing that Warner was fully informed of the relationship with Fox and entered into the production with eyes wide open.
Fingers are also pointed at Gordon's former attourneys at Jake Bloom's law firm, who were involved with the 1991 agreement with Fox that became the lynchpin to thier case.
The bittersweet good news for either Warner and/or Gordon and/or Bloom, is that the film's underachievment at the box office means the payout to Fox is smaller than expected
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
