Watchmen Movie Settlement Might Happen

According to the Associated Press, lawyers for movie studios 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers have told a federal judge that there are "fruitful talks" of a settlement between the two parties to take place. Fox and WB are currently embroiled in a legal battle over the film rights for the new superhero movie, Watchmen. WB financed and produced the Watchmen movie currently set for release on March 6, 2009. Both WB and Fox have asked the court to delay a scheduled hearing so their settlement talks can continue. U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess agreed, but the trial to determine whether to block the film's March release will still take place on Jan. 20.

Lou Karasik, counsel for Fox, told Feess that the delay would be "very, very helpful" for the settlement discussions to be "productive."

The revelation by Fox and WB was surprising since the trial is set to take place so close to the Watchmen movie's planned release date in early March. Not only that, WB had earlier stated that a settlement was very unlikely. There has clearly been a recent change of heart.

Friday's revelation surprised Feess, who noted that Warner Bros. had been seeking to move up the Jan. 20 trial to next week, citing the film's marketing campaign and its March 6 release date.

In February of 2008, 20th Century Fox enacted a lawsuit to block the release of the Watchmen movie. Last December, Feess ruled that Fox has the rights to distribute the movie made by WB. This stems from Fox originally licensing the property in a deal with the movie's producer, Lawrence Gordon, in the 1980s. Fox opted not to produce Watchmen, but due to an apparent turnaround clause, they still had a claim to the picture.