Movies
The ‘Friday the 13th’ Rights Battle Heats Up
It’s all about perspective and a judge is free to wield a machete as he wishes in accordance with the law, explains THR.
With that, the rights to Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees are in the midst a legal battle, which could end ugly for fans of the character and franchise.
The article at THR breaks down the filings and what each side is alleging, which is based around the idea of “work for hire” and where the concept for the film and character were created. Victor Miller, the original film’s scriptwriter, claims he wasn’t employed when he wrote the movie and thus is looking to terminate a grant of rights and reclaim ownership. In the 1970s, the U.S. Congress amended copyright law to allow this and Miller is looking to do exactly that.
While the full implications aren’t explained, the website theorizes this Friday the 13th horror story: The franchise is ripped apart. In the United States, new films in the canon are made but without the “Jason” character. Outside the country, other Friday the 13th sequels come — these with “Jason” — but are banned domestically.
If that sounds odd, it’s all possible thanks to the 1976 Copyright Act and what happens soon in a Connecticut federal court. Click the aforementioned links for all the legal mumbo-jumbo.
In addition to Leigh Whannell’s upcoming Universal Monsters movie Wolf Man, Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel) has also joined the cast of Weapons, THR has announced tonight.
Weapons is the new horror movie from New Line Cinema and director Zach Cregger (Barbarian), with Julia Garner joining the previously announced Josh Brolin (Dune 2).
The upcoming Weapons is from writer/director Zach Cregger, who will also produce alongside his Barbarian producing team: Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures. Vertigo’s Miri Yoon also produces.
The Hollywood Reporter teases, “Plot details for Weapons are being kept holstered but it is described as a multi and inter-related story horror epic that tonally is in the vein of Magnolia, the 1999 actor-crammed showcase from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.”
Cregger was a founding member and writer for the New York comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’Know,” which he started while attending The School of Visual Arts. The award-winning group’s self-titled sketch comedy show ran for five seasons on IFC-TV and Fuse. He was also a series regular on Jimmy Fallon’s NBC series “Guys with Kids” and the TBS hit series “Wrecked,” and was featured in a recurring role on the NBC series “About a Boy.”
Weapons will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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