January 4, 2022 It's been well over a decade since the last Friday the 13th film was released in 2009. Over the weekend, we got some clarification on Cunninghams new lawsuit from our favorite Friday-alumn-turned-lawyer Larry Zerner (the actor who played the loveable loser Shelley inFriday the 13th: Part III). 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. Within a few months of Logan Paul replacing him, everyone realizes they can't tell the difference. If a deal isnt reached, Zerner offers one last resort. This has been the subject of lawsuits before. Since the Halloween movies are making a comeback, and other slasher franchises like Scream and Hellraiser (more on that later) are making comebacks, theres an argument to be made that Jason is more valuable now than he will be in a few years, or even that his value has already started to diminish since the beginning of this litigation. 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. But the rotting cabins of an abandoned summer camp are not the only things he finds. Larry Zerner, the lawyer representing Victor Miller, portrayed Shelly. Sean Cunningham and Horror Inc.s appeal was based on their position that the trial judge erred in not considering WGA membership the Writers Guild of America, the union screenwriters can belong to when considering the Reid Factors, the factors that decide if Miller was an employee or contractor in the case linked above. 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. 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 Introducing Victoria New Counselor Offline Bot AI Improvements More realistic AI Welcome to the Salt Mines Hollywood producer Roy Lee excitedly teases that news regarding the Friday the 13th franchise could be coming soon. - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc0_UBdlG6-1yzZXPtUxkzg/joinJoin our Discord! Another thanks to our pal, Larry Zerner, who pointed out that this would only come into effect 35 years after the original 1986 sale (in 2021). With only a few months left to go, it shouldnt be much longer before we know what this exciting news could be. Circuit Court of Appeals granted him the win in his copyright. Meanwhile, weve learned via The Hollywood Reporter that a whole nother Friday the 13th legal battle is underway, with Sean Cunningham now going after WB and Paramount. Do you do a new mask, like they often did before? Essentially, movies are set up as corporations, and every expense can be counted as against profit. The employee qualification can be applied differently for different reasons, which is what happened in the Appeals decision. - September 30, 2021 12:49 pm EDT. Publisher Gun Media says it will release one final update for Friday the 13th . The whats next? of it all is certainly the most interesting question. 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. This greatly affects how much is paid out to those with profit percentages payouts in their contracts. None of the other films are part of the suit." Friday the 13th producer Sean Cunningham has filed another lawsuit related to the series, this time against Warner Bros. and . Dont hold your breath. 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. So, theoretically, anyone could, you might say, take a stab at it. As most of us know, Cunningham who produced and directed the original film has been embroiled in a legal battle with screenwriter Victor Miller over the rights to Jason andFriday the 13th. Friday The 13th Reboot Update! Friday the 13th lawsuit update: Sean S. Cunningham says odds of a new movie being made are 50-50 By Cody Hamman May 12, 2022 JASON VOORHEES - Killer Guide to Horror Watch on Now Feldman has given an interview with MovieWeb claiming that the . So, they can continue to exist, but not be updated. This issue hasnt been brought up in the case just yet, but the value of a franchise changes over time; while things are tied up in courts, a franchise owner could be losing possible value. Friday the 13th lawsuit has now ended marking Victor Miller the winner for the rights of the first Friday The 13th movie. A court sided with Miller, but in interviews with CNN, Cunningham and Millers attorney reveal why Jason may not have hacked his way out of court just yet. 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. To put it this way, Friday the 13th is more fun, laid back, like a party game. Larry Zerner has stated on Twitter: The lawsuit ONLY concerns profits of the 2009 F13 Reboot. So whats in the original script? He is set to launch a similar suit against Marvel on behalf of the Steve Ditko estate, hoping to regain half of the rights to Spider-Man. Presumably, the studio will push for a Supreme Court hearing, or will otherwise work to negotiate some sort of rights split. What risks are associated with another Jason movie? In fact, Mrs. Voorhees channeled Jason. Copyright fights are on the horizon for many well-known characters. Living With Chucky Check Out the Collectors Edition Blu-ray Artwork from Creepy Duck Design! This was heard before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on February 13th, 2020 and the decision was released on September 30th, 2021. Friday the 13th lawsuit update In the most recent update on the lawsuit, The Hollywood Reporter shares that the 2nd U.S. The other risk comes to either party proceeding with Friday the 13th media using the elements they each own. Still, he doesn't implicitly own derivative works or spinoff characters, so the adult version of Jason Voorhees who stalked teenagers for decades after the original would not be included in the ruling, but "Jason Voorhees" as a character does, provided he was reinvented sufficiently differently. You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter@josh_millican. - https://discord.gg/slashncastTwitter - http://www.twitter.com/SlashNCastFollow us on Twitch! CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. It's 4 pm and I still don't see a cert petition filed with the Supreme Court in the Friday the 13th case. this does put us one step closer to seeing anew Jason Voorhees movie but there is a major problem stopping Jason to return as we know him. Fans just want another movie at this point, but its starting to feel like poor Jason is never going to get out of the courtroom. It also now includes information on the 2021 Cunningham v Paramount lawsuit. Eddie Murphy starred in the film. Should this remain tied up, that means no more movies, and that means Miller and Cunningham might both have cases for diminishing values. 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. Cunningham claims that the screenplay was written as a work made for hire, and that as a result, his production company is legally considered to be the original author (this is the reason Marvel and DC always win these cases against comic book creators). If a movie shows no or low profits, these payouts can be minimal or non-existent. And if it was an adult Jason without a hockey mask, I cant imagine they would be very successful, he added. Days before his costume caught attention, it had been reported that James was interested in bringing the horror icon back to the big screen through his production company, SpringHill. While some moviegoers may have forgotten about Jason Voorhees' dominance on the silver screen, horror fans are painfully aware of the 13 years the iconic slasher has been missing from theaters. 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. 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 court battle that's killing 'Friday the 13th' By Jason Kravarik Updated 12:04 PM EDT, Fri May 13, 2022 Link Copied! Furthermore, LeBron James would have been involved with his SpringHill Entertainment. Is A Solo Pamela Voorhees Friday The 13th Possible Following The Lawsuit? The Friday the 13th horror film franchise has been in an interesting situation throughout the last few years. As it stands, it is unclear who would own an extended franchise based on an original sold work after this termination clause is invoked. He has also contributed to many other online publications over the past several years, including Dread Central, FanSided, Netflix Life, Undead Walking, and Redshirts Always Die. The courts distinguished between the use of the WGA membership (which Cunningham argued to justify the employee relationship to block the termination) to allow Miller to be considered an employee for the sake of employment law, but not allow it to have bearing on copyright law. Friday the 13th LAWSUIT UPDATE | NO Supreme Court! Right now, it is 50-50.. EDITOR UPDATE: More information about the lawsuit has become available. After a three year run, the latest chapter in the Jason Voorhees story is coming to something of an end (via IGN ). Victor Miller could potentially permit the production of a Friday the 13th film with a release nowhere outside of the USA. Developer Illfonic has released the Friday The 13: The Game update 1.40 May 4 patch, and is also the last patch planned by the devs for the game! Court systems worldwide have had delays as a result of lockdown logistics and its increasingly difficult to predict timelines. As fans know, the property has unfortunately been the focus of a. 0. 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. But Moss says fans shouldnt worry that their favorite Avengers are at risk of being kept off screen. Supernatural serial killer Jason Voorhees can never truly die, but it's been suggested Friday the 13th' s ongoing creator lawsuit might've killed the series. Especially if its something he would love to talk about. It definitely looks like a good sign for fans. Members keep the channel alive! He is also currently representing multiple estates in a termination claim as against Marvel Comics started in September 2021. As it stands, it would be risky to proceed with any media as the battle for Jason rages on, and should Jason remain with Cunningham, hed have to produce only media that doesnt reference any lore from Part I. There might have been risk in targeting the studio while the rights to make more Friday the 13th media were still in hand. This all-important fact remains unclear as the ongoing legal battle for Friday the 13th ownership trudges on. Due to their lengthy legal battle, audiences have speculated that the two parties would be unable to resolve their differences and create new Friday the 13th content. Well just have to wait to see whats next. You are only able to argue that the initial trial judge made an error of law, and present your position that, but for the error, the case would be decided differently. Its also possible the delay is because Judge Winter was the judge writing the decision (one judge usually writes the long decision and the others concur or dissent.). All rights reserved. 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. Famously, Peter Jackson and Wingnut Films sued New Line Cinema, along with actors and Tolkiens estate, for their gross percentage payouts. While you wait, check out the trippy official poster for Haunted Mansion below! Victor always saw the story he helped write as a revenge story about a mother, and considered Jason to be a victim. Posted: Nov 3, 2020 8:53 am. (Though anyone whos litigated in their life knows this is never a reliable factor, judges are truly difficult to read). The game was created and launched in May of 2017 while the rights were still securely in hands. Putting aside the issue of whether Victor is legally able to terminate the agreement, the remaining issues are very complicated 1/. LaKeith Stanfield,Tiffany Haddish,Owen Wilson,Rosario Dawson, andDanny DeVitostar, withJamie Lee Curtisas Madame Leota andJared Letoas the Hatbox Ghost. Often, cast and crew have contracts with the studio that include payment in the form of a percentage of the films profits. The court made a summary judgment that the facts were not in dispute, then applied the law, deciding in favor of Miller. 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