I just woke up from a nap induced by watching a show about mules with my folks — Christmas in Texas is rad, I’m telling you — to find a Twitter post by Latino Review‘s George Roush: “Breaking News: Judge Rules In Fox’s Favor Over Watchmen Copyright Interest”.
Whoa. And there it is, right in the New York Times. (Nikki Finke must be busy. Maybe she was watching the mule show, too.)
“In a surprise ruling, a federal judge in Los Angeles said he intended
to grant 20th Century Fox’s claim that it owns a copyright interest in
the [sic] Watchmen.” The judge, Gary A. Feess, says he’ll provide a more detailed order soon. But this, from Feess’s five-page order, is all you really need: “Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture.”
WB isn’t commenting yet, and the Times piece doesn’t reference a statement from Fox. But this isn’t over by any means. Money will change hands, perhaps we’ll see Fox’s logo in addition to WB’s in front of the film, but I’d be shocked if this actually affects your ability to see the movie on March 6, 2009. No need for alarm, unless you’re an accountant for Warner Brothers.