Heat 2, a long-anticipated project, has locked in the film’s key roles for production; however, its director, Michael Mann, is embroiled in a legal battle.
The dispute centres on who holds the rights to the original Heat screenplay.
Mann, who wrote and directed the 1995 movie, is seeking to reclaim control of the film’s screenplay copyright under US copyright law.
The law states that authors can, under certain conditions, regain control of their work after 35 years.
However, here New Regency – a production company that produced Heat – disputes Mann’s version of events, which he filed through his attorneys earlier this year.
In its filing, made on Friday, the company made a different claim.
It acknowledged Mann’s work on the screenplay; however, the New Regency disputed the nature of the contract.
They said the screenplay was part of the 1994 agreement that it was ‘work made for hire,’ which contradicted Mann’s claim that he did not own it.
According to New Regency, Mann’s legal argument of a ’35 years of termination provision’ cannot apply to work made for hire.
In response, Mann’s lawyers issued a lengthy statement, stating, “We will vigorously defend this action and are 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.”
Could the legal fight affect the sequel to Heat?
Apparently no, according to Mann’s lawyer, stating, “For clarification, the lawsuit is unrelated to the production of Heat 2, which will begin shooting on January 19.”
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