The history of the ownership of the film rights to writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' Watchmen graphic novel is a complicated one, with 20th Century Fox obtaining the rights back in the '80s but abandoning the idea of actually making a Watchmen movie a decade ago. Watchmen, a graphic novel considered by many to be unfilmable, passed through a lot of hands before ultimately landing at Warner Bros. Snyder wound up as director after wowing the studio with 300 and after demonstrating how he planned on remaining true to the source material while bringing the story to life.
Watchmen fans have reacted positively to Snyder's interpretation of Moore's work, with Gibbons saying the film has exceeded his expectations. "Over the years there have been attempts to make it into a movie. The thing that characterized Watchmen when Alan Moore and I were doing it way back was it was almost a sense of serendipity or fortunate coincidence. And I think the timing of this has got that feeling to me, that it's just come along at the right time with right director. And with the current spate of superhero movies, it's just the right time to deconstruct that. So I'm really happy with it," said Gibbons in our July 2008 interview.
Just like they did so successfully with 300, Snyder and Warner Bros showed off footage from Watchmen at the San Diego Comic Con in order to generate buzz. It worked - with fans enthusiastically praising the clips, the cast, and the film's visual style after being given a sneak peek at select scenes. That July 2008 preview helped launch the Watchmen publicity campaign, with the action-thriller now ranking toward the top of most 'Must See' lists for 2009 films. But, if Fox's lawyers have their way, the release date may be postponed.
U.S. District Court Judge Gary A. Feess has ruled in favor of Fox, finding their claim of copyright infringement is valid. Feess' ruling stated he found Fox has "copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture." Feess set a court date of January 20, 2008 to discuss the issue.
Warner Bros' attorneys have indicated they are not interested in a settlement and are ready to take the case to trial. The studio issued a statement on December 29, 2008 following Feess' latest ruling. "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."
Fox's legal team is seeking to delay the release of Watchmen, a move which has enraged fans. But you really have to wonder why Warner Bros' legal department didn't confirm Fox had dropped its claim to the material before the studio moved forward and spent $120+ million making Watchmen. And, why didn't Fox bring the matter to the attention of the court before Warner Bros started filming Watchmen? Warner Bros stands to lose millions if Fox wins the case, but the real losers will be the fans if Fox succeeds in postponing the much-anticipated release of one of the only comic book/graphic novel-inspired films set for release in 2009.
