Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller will reclaim the domestic rights to the iconic horror franchise after scoring a major legal victory. A scene from the 2009 film "Friday the 13th. Before Pamela Voorhees and a version of Jason that might have been an apparition graced our silver screens, writers and studios exchanged words, contracts, and agreements to create the massive hockey mask franchise we know and love. CNN It wasn't a shock when LeBron James showed up to a Lakers game. Members keep the channel alive! You may be hearing something by years end on that front.. Both sides are really dug into foxholes, Cunningham said. While its hard to decipher exactly what this update means for fans, theres a chance this is good news for friends of Jason. The Friday the 13th legal war seems to have reached a finale. #FridayThe13th #JasonVoorhees 6 Terrifying Horror Mockumentaries Thatll Make You Question Reality, Return To Silent Hill: Exciting New Details Emerge About Sequel, The Blackening Trailer For Buzzy, Black Horror Satire Arrives: We cant all die first. The lawsuit ONLY concerns profits of the 2009 F13 Reboot. With this in mind, a potential new Miller-produced Friday the 13th movie would . Hope arrived in 2018 when LeBron James showed interest in a reboot, but the project never took off due to the ongoing lawsuit. I think for sure it will come back, Cunningham said. Victor Miller could potentially permit the production of a Friday the 13th film with a release nowhere outside of the USA. Those who know (sorry, Casey Becker, but you dont know) understand that Jason Voorhees, the undead giant, didnt exist until Part II, and the hockey mask wearing zombie adjacent penultimate version of the slasher didnt come to be until Part III. I guess only time will tell. Hes also potentially avoiding any possible allegations for diminishing value since no one can make more Friday the 13th media right now anyway. Now we can license a remake, prequel or even sequel motion pictures provided such films do not use any additional copyrightable elements said Marc Toberoff, a Malibu copyright attorney who represents Miller. Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller has won the rights to the original film in a massive lawsuit. - https://www.twitch.tv/slashncastFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/slashncastXbox, PS4, and Steam Community Groups - \"Slash N Cast Fans\"Support the Slash 'N Cast Podcast Network - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1430243890487883/https://twitter.com/SnCNetwork2017-2020 Retro Redux Entertainment#horror #horrornews #slashncast Speculating without having read the claim, it appears Cunningham is alleging that Paramount and Warner Bros engaged in Hollywood accounting, which lead to him not getting the fullest payout for his licensing. JUST IN: Friday the 13th screenwriter wins copyright termination appeal against producer. He was granted ownership of Friday the 13th. While it isn't much to go on, Lee's optimism about sharing Friday the 13th updates is good news for longtime viewers that want to see Jason come back to life. End of content No future content Skull Objectives Unlock 30 new emotes Update Status First Look: Engine Update XP, CP, & Tape Event Happy Friday the 13th Campers View all news Patches 8.9.19 Patch Notes 7.30.19 Patch Notes 5.7.19 Patch Notes View all patches REPORT BUG Larry Zerner has stated on Twitter: The lawsuit ONLY concerns profits of the 2009 F13 Reboot. The rights transfer is also exclusive to U.S. domestic rights, meaning that even assuming this arrangement holds, Miller will have to come to some kind of agreement with Cunningham and other stakeholders before new films can be produced and distributed worldwide. Consider joining here! Friday The 13: The Game Update 1.40 May 4 Brings the Final Update to the Game. Toberoff, who also secured rights to horror icon Freddy Kreuger and A Nightmare on Elm Street for the estate of Wes Craven, appears ready to walk a fine line as he pushes for a future project. Though, since these two litigious fellas seem to be pushing towards the Supreme Court after four years of not reaching a settlement, its possible theyll drag that piece of the puzzle on. It usually results in a negotiation and settlement between both sides, he said. Victor Miller, the writer of the original screenplay, has evoked a 1976 slice of copyright law to get the rights to his script back. It also now includes information on the 2021 Cunningham v Paramount lawsuit. The former would mean he never owned the copyright and has no claim to it now; the latter would mean that he initially owned, then sold, the copyright, allowing him to trigger the reversion clause. That same year, he also became the editor-in-chief and sole contributor for Last Night On, providing coverage for both websites over the next three years. This suit is completely separate from the one between Cunningham and Miller, though elements of them could end up related. Right now, it is 50-50.. Additionally, camp counsellors across the lake might be out of luck. According to The . The timing of termination -- in 2017 -- was likely in part due to rumored movement on a sequel and in part because Miller only had a five-year window, from 2014 until 2019, to file. November 1, 2022. The last time Jason was on screen was over ten years ago, and with elements of the Voorhees franchise still in the air even after the impending appellate court decision, new Jason media isnt on the horizon. That doesn't mean he owns the film, but rather than he owns the intellectual property of the original screenplay and the characters created therein. This rule was added in 1976 by Congress with the intention to protect creators from unequal bargaining power. Hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees lies in wait for a chance to use his razor-sharp machete on Clay and the group of college students who have come to the forest to party. Presumably, the studio will push for a Supreme Court hearing, or will otherwise work to negotiate some sort of rights split. This includes things like travel, marketing, and any number of expenses a project can incur, including money paid to the studio and its executives. Horror fans are historically fickle about reboots, and the involvement of a celebrity like James and his Springhill Entertainment is another source of criticism. LaKeith Stanfield,Tiffany Haddish,Owen Wilson,Rosario Dawson, andDanny DeVitostar, withJamie Lee Curtisas Madame Leota andJared Letoas the Hatbox Ghost. by Alex Co. May 4, 2021 10:43 am in News. Films like Robocop, Beetlejuice and Ace Ventura.. In an appeal, you are not able to retry the facts. Cunningham says those rights still rest with him and the original investors. There might have been risk in targeting the studio while the rights to make more Friday the 13th media were still in hand. Related:Is A Solo Pamela Voorhees Friday The 13th Possible Following The Lawsuit? Crystal Lake Reunion Friday the 13th Franchise Stars Reuniting at Original Movies Filming Location! By Russ Burlingame - September 30, 2021 12:49 pm EDT. For those of us who prefer legal dramas to slasher flicks, this could be a riveting battle of oral arguments, briefs, precedents, amici, and maybe an en banc. Essentially, movies are set up as corporations, and every expense can be counted as against profit. This should not be confused with the ongoing lawsuit Cunningham is waging with original Friday screenwriter Victor Miller (although its all very confusing!). This post on the Friday the 13th lawsuit was updated on October 2, 2021, to reflect the current status of the Horror Inc. v Miller case. He also complaints that Paramount and Warner have redacted their package license agreements preventing him from fully understanding the flow of money. The riveting audio is available here thanks, Larry Zerner and you can get a really exciting peek into the world of appellate litigation, otherwise known as the terrifying exercise of meticulously preparing perfect oral arguments but then getting interrupted by the judges until you run out of time. It was here that Victor Miller either penned Friday the 13th and sold it to a studio or worked on the project as their employee. While a new film or series is a viable option following Miller's legal victory, unless he and Cunningham agree on how to utilize the material, any potential project is dead on arrival. Copyright fights are on the horizon for many well-known characters. Friday the 13th producer Sean Cunningham has filed another lawsuit related to the series, this time against Warner Bros. and Paramount. Since the decision requires a majority vote, its possible that it was split and Judge Winters vote was in the majority. And, of course, the first was all teed up for sequels.. At the trial level where the facts of the case are heard in full it was decided that Miller did own the initial copyright, was not an employee, and therefore has a claim to the copyright now. To consider it, you have to drill down whats in question here: the ownership of the original Friday the 13th script, not the sequels. Friday The 13th Reboot Update! In their decision, the court reaffirmed the trial decision and decided in favor of Miller, allowing the termination and granting him rights to the original script. There was a long delay in getting this decision and there are a few possibilities as to why. Jeryline Bascombe: Demon Knight, Final Girl, and Savior of the World [Matriarchy Rising], HARD:LINE Film Festival Announces Its 2023 Short Film Line-Up, Five Directors Who Should Make The Next A Nightmare On Elm Street. A key element in the game that separates it from Mortal Kombat is the ownership of Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask clad slasher. It could potentially be dangerous for screenwriters, and its possible the WGA would step in and could look to Congress. Desperate for help, they contact a priest (Wilson), who, in turn, enlists the aid of a widowed scientist-turned failed-paranormal expert (Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Haddish) and a crotchety historian (DeVito).. As reported by Comicbook.com, the Friday the 13th lawsuit has reportedly ended but has yet to be resolved entirely. The 12 Friday the 13th films have grossed a combined worldwide box-office total of $468.24 million dollars and even more off merchandise over the years. I really hope this gets resolved soon. Theyre not going to throw any grenades, but I dont think anyone is going to call for peace talks.. What does this mean? This Jason drought might seem like a late holiday gift for the parents, religious groups, and censors that waged war against these films in. Miller now owns the copyright to his screenplay, including sequel rights, but Jason cant be portrayed as any older than in the first movie? But James was more than a fan. After an appeals court upheld a lower court ruling in September, Miller, the screenwriter, was awarded the copyright for the script and characters associated with the original Friday the 13th film. Well, without a new Friday The 13th movie for now. A battle over Jasons age and appearance could be moot because of a key limitation of the U.S. copyright law: It only applies to rights within the United States, not foreign markets, which are coveted by Hollywood distributors. The Lake Exclusive Clip: What Exactly Is In That Giant Egg? According to a complaint filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the studios distributing the films have systematically misaccounted contingent compensation., The report continues, TheFriday the 13th franchise has grossed more than $129 million, according to the complaint, but Cunningham says audits revealed theres been improper deductions of fees and bonuses, undervalued licenses, an underreporting of merchandizing revenue and pay TV income, and on and on. Posted: Nov 3, 2020 8:53 am. Its been a stressful few years forFriday the 13th fans, to say the least. Friday The 13th Reboot Movie Gets Hopeful Update Amid Legal Battles, lawsuit filed by screenwriter Victor Miller. Especially considering. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Tommy Wiseau sued the filmmakers of said documentary, tying the documentary up in court, killing their 2017 release date. Writer in the horror community since 2008. (Though anyone whos litigated in their life knows this is never a reliable factor, judges are truly difficult to read). James had previously called the series one of my favorites and posted an Instagram photo of himself dressed in Jasons chosen head gear, a hockey mask. Cunningham says he is prepared to fight if Miller tries to make a Friday the 13th with an adult version of the Jason character at the center. The other possibility is that the COVID delays have just kicked this out of priority. The lengthy Friday the 13th legal battle is officially over, and Victor Miller has retained the domestic rights to the screenplay. The screenwriter has won the appeal in the case for the rights to the Friday The 13th franchise, sending Sean Cunningham and Horror Inc.. The film producer recently participated in an interview with The Boo Crew Podcast via Bloody-Disgusting. For half a decade, Friday the 13th has been stuck in a copyright dispute over who owns the original script, with the result, in part, affecting who can use that iconic hockey mask going forward. Everyone involved agrees there are still millions more sitting on the table should Jason wield a machete once again on film, television or video game especially after a massively successful reboot of the Halloween franchise. I love that my two passions intersect, copyright law and Friday the 13th, Zerner said. RELATED:Michael Myers is Here to Slay in New Halloween Kills Images. Lindsay Traves is a Toronto-based writer. The Friday the 13th horror film franchise has been in an interesting situation throughout the last few years. (Jasons mother was the killer in Millers original film). Last month, Clive Barker, writer of the original Hellraiser, sued for a declaratory judgment that he can terminate his copyright transfer and regain the franchise. A reboot never happened. He is referring to a final scene where a young Jason leaps from the lake to attack the heroine. More simply, an author who sells the copyright to their work can formally request a reversion of those rights (to get their copyright back) after 35 years have lapsed. In Feldman's mind, this clears a path to ignore the previous reboot -- which he calls an "atrocity" -- and make a movie that reunites his version of his character with Jason. Jeremy began contributing to the online horror publication 1428 Elm in 2014, becoming a site editor soon after in 2015. Unwelcome Exclusive Clip Meet the Tiny Goblins in Upcoming Irish Creature Feature! I am more of a chill so I like friday the 13th but sadly . Larry Zerner, the lawyer representing Victor Miller, portrayed Shelly. Can these girls stop playing petty already and just give us what we need? The rights are now in the hands of the original film producer and director, Horror Inc. / Sean S. Cunningham. 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