New Regency is reportedly suing filmmaker Michael Mann to reassert the company’s ownership of what quite a few consider Mann’s greatest work – 1995’s “Heat”.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in California federal court and New Regency argues that Mann can not exploit a copyright law provision that – after a certain period – allows creators to claw back ownership of their works.
Mann reportedly served three notices to New Regency earlier this year seeking to reclaim the copyright to the screenplay and underlying materials for “Heat”.
The complaint says “the screenplay is not subject to termination,” arguing that Mann’s bids to terminate New Regency’s copyright are invalid because the director penned the screenplay as a work made for hire.
The studio seeks a court order clarifying that it retains the rights to the screenplay for the film. In response, a spokesperson for Mann tells THR:
“[Mann] is confident that the courts will vindicate Michael Mann’s statutory rights under the Copyright Act. This filing has to do with original and personal writing Michael Mann did on multiple screenplays during the 1980s and which evolved into the iconic 1995 film Heat that Mann wrote, produced and directed. After 40 years, Michael Mann is exercising the right of authors to reclaim their work and, in this case, Michael Mann’s original creation.”
Timing of the filing is interesting as it comes as Mann is gearing up to film “Heat 2” starting January 19th – a movie that serves as both a prequel and sequel to the original.
