Avengers and X-Men wage war in action-packed fan trailer; Comic Book Resources, 5/20/16

Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resources; Avengers and X-Men wage war in action-packed fan trailer:

"Fans at last saw Spider-Man introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain America: Civil War, but it will be a long, long time before they witness the X-Men do the same. Until then, they can watch this epic fan trailer, which pits Marvel’s mutants against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, over and over and over again."

Roger Friedman's Leaked "Wolverine" Review Gets Him In Trouble With Fox News, News Corp; Huffington Post, 4/5/09

Via Huffington Post: Roger Friedman's Leaked "Wolverine" Review Gets Him In Trouble With Fox News, News Corp:

"Friedman's FoxNews.com column Thursday — since deleted — was a review of "Wolverine" that studio bosses viewed as an implicit endorsement of movie piracy, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke.

In the column, Friedman marveled at the ease of viewing a pirated movie: "It took really less than seconds to start playing it all right onto my computer," he wrote.

A News Corp statement Sunday (below) indicated that he had been "promptly terminated," which Friedman denied to ABCNews.com...

News Corp statement:
"Roger Friedman's views in no way reflect the views of News Corporation. We, along with 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, have been a consistent leader in the fight against piracy and have zero tolerance for any action that encourages and promotes piracy. When we advised Fox News of the facts they took immediate action, removed the post, and promptly terminated Mr. Friedman.""

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/05/roger-friedman-fired-by-f_n_183293.html

FBI called in over Wolverine leak, BBC News, 4/3/09

Via BBC News; FBI called in over Wolverine leak:

"The Hugh Jackman film was downloaded an estimated 100,000 times from file-sharing websites on Tuesday.

20th Century Fox confirmed the copy had now been removed and the FBI informed.

The studio behind Wolverine stated: "The source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"The courts have handed down significant criminal sentences for such acts" the studio noted...

Fox called the leaked movie a "stolen, incomplete and early version"...

The studio added that because their content is forensically marked they should be able to trace the person who uploaded it."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7978379.stm

Judge Delays Ruling on Blocking Release of ‘Watchmen’ Film, New York Times, 12/30/08

Via New York Times: Judge Delays Ruling on Blocking Release of ‘Watchmen’ Film:

"Hollywood ownership fights are not rare, but a dispute over a film that has already been shot and is on the verge of being released is highly unusual. Warner released a statement saying, “We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court’s ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options.”

The film has been eagerly awaited since last year, when the director Zack Snyder, best known for “300,” announced that he planned a movie based on the widely known graphic novel “Watchmen.”

But the film became embroiled in an extraordinary dispute between studios last winter, when Fox filed suit, claiming that it owned the property on which the movie was based. As the case progressed, fingers pointed from all sides at Lawrence Gordon, the veteran producer who brought the film to Warner after failed attempts over the years to make it with Fox, Universal Pictures and then Paramount...

Judge Feess then weighed in with an unusual reprimand. In a footnote to his order indicating that he would rule in favor of Fox, the judge said Mr. Gordon’s decision to invoke attorney-client privilege rather than testify about his contractual arrangements had helped Fox.

“The court takes a dim view of this conduct,” Judge Feess wrote. “The court will not, during the remainder of this case, receive any evidence from Gordon that attempts to contradict any aspect of this court’s ruling on the copyright issues under discussion.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/business/media/30watchmen.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=watchmen&st=cse

Why Fox is licking its lips over Watchmen, The Guardian, 12/30/08

Via The Guardian: Why Fox is licking its lips over Watchmen, A Christmas Eve ruling on the disputed rights to Alan Moore's graphic novel has left Warner forlorn and the film's release date up in the air:

"After four months of deliberation, Judge Feess decided that 20th Century Fox "owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the Watchmen motion picture"...

This is Feess's preliminary judgment, prior to a full trial, and now it's left to the two studios to thrash out an agreement, or take further legal action. If Warner Bros (and Paramount, who will be handling the film outside the US) appeals, the film could conceivably not emerge until 2011...

It seems as though Warner Brothers made an unfortunate hit on the one-tenth part of the old adage about possession and the law, and now it is paying the price for its gamesmanship."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2008/dec/30/watchmen-rights-ruling

Judge Says Fox Owns Rights to a Warner Movie, New York Times, 12/25/08

Via New York Times: Judge Says Fox Owns Rights to a Warner Movie:

“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture,” the ruling said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/business/media/25fox.html