Screenwriter Wins FRIDAY THE 13TH Lawsuit
Screenwriter Victor Miller has won that lawsuit over Friday the 13th that’s been gunking up the works forever now. The decision’s been pending for a year now and has interfered with new movies as well as Friday the 13th: The Game.
This is all pretty complicated so I’m just going lay out what THR reports, which is that U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill has granted in favor of Miller and against the producers. Miller will control rights inside the U.S. while producers control rights elsewhere.
“Nearly 40 years ago, a screenplay was written about Camp Crystal Lake,” opens a 62-page summary judgment. “The film created from the screenplay went on to significant commercial success. Lurking below that peaceful surface, however, was the Copyright Act’s termination right, waiting for just the right moment, when it would emerge and wreak havoc on the rights to the screenplay.”
Writes the judge: “I hold that Miller did not prepare the screenplay as a work for hire and that Miller’s Second Termination Notice validly terminated Horror’s rights to the copyright in the screenplay to Friday the 13th.”
“In sum, although Cunningham possessed ultimate approval authority over Miller’s output, that fact is consistent with a hiring party’s role in both independent contractor and employment relationships,” states the opinion. “The simple fact that Cunningham provided direction or supervision is also not dispositive. Although the record points to frequent interaction between Cunningham and Miller, there is little in the record to suggest that such interactions frequently consisted of Cunningham exercising close control over Miller’s work, and there is nothing in the record that suggests Cunningham controlled the details of Miller’s creative expression or otherwise directed the performance of Miller’s daily activities. Despite a lack of detailed control over Miller’s expression or confining control over Miller’s work habits, however, Cunningham’s discussions with Miller and approval authority did broadly affect the aesthetic content of the screenplay.”
All of this said, there could be future battles over the character of Jason.
The judge writes, “I also decline to analyze the extent to which Miller can claim copyright in the monstrous ‘Jason’ figure present in sequels to the original film. Horror may very well be able to argue that the Jason character present in later films is distinct from the Jason character briefly present in the first film, and Horror or other participants may be able to stake a claim to have added sufficient independently copyrightable material to Jason in the sequels to hold independent copyright in the adult Jason character. That question is not properly before the court in this case, however.”
Again, I’m not sure if this makes much sense, but it’s what’s being reported. Read more HERE.
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