| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
'Exorcist' screenwriter, director file claim against Warner Bros.
Friday June 20, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) The author of ``The Exorcist'' and the director of the 1973 movie of the same name have filed suit against Warner Bros., alleging the studio didn't do enough to make them money.
William Peter Blatty, who wrote the novel and screenplay, and director William Friedkin, claim Warner Bros. breached its fiduciary duty by self-dealing the rights for a newer version of the film. They claim the studio would sell the rights to its sister cable television networks TNT and TBS for little to no profit.
On Thursday, a Superior Court judge heard arguments but did not rule on a request by Warner Bros. to dismiss the lawsuit. The studio claims it has no financial responsibility to both men who were hired to perform a service and were paid for that service.
``They received a specified percentage of the net profits,'' said Warner Bros. attorney David L. Burg.
Plaintiffs' attorney Lawrence Iser argued that when Warner Bros. wanted a new version of ``The Exorcist,'' the studio asked Friedkin and Blatty to return to work. The studio made hundreds of millions of dollars and made promises of profits to both men it did not keep, Iser said. Blatty and Friedkin are seeking unspecified damages.
Superior Court Judge Laurie Zelon did not indicate when she might make a final ruling. In a tentative ruling prior to Thursday's hearing, Zelon denied Blatty and Friedkin's claim of breach of fiduciary duty, however, a July 14 trial is set for the pair's claims of breach of contract and misrepresented accounting.
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