Watchmen Settlement Close

Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox said Friday that they have been making progress in talks aimed at settling the legal dispute over the rights to Watchmen. A hearing to set a trial date had been scheduled for today (Monday) before U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess, who had ruled last month that Warner Bros. and the film's producers had failed to obtain distribution rights to the movie. On his New York Times Carpetbagger blog, reporter Michael Cieply noted that he had spotted Fox studios co-chairman Tom Rothman and Warner Bros. President Alan Horn "smiling and back-patting -- each other, not the superstars" at the Golden Globes. Cieply concluded: "A public display of affection between studio chiefs, along with those pricey Watchmen ads on the National Football League playoff games this weekend, would add up to a message as big as the Hollywood sign: The talks between hitherto warring Fox and Warner over a settlement of Fox's lawsuit over rights to Watchmen must be on track." IMDB