Most fans are not thrilled with the idea of a remake of The Crow, myself included and with news that Bradley Cooper was in talks for the lead role, I was not enthusiastic. My own opinions aside, the film has had its troubles getting into production. Now, it looks as if a lawsuit, filed by the Weinstein Brothers, has been filed against Relativity media regarding the distribution rights of The Crow property.
Bert Fields is repping Harvey and Bob's The Weinstein Co against Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media seeking injunctive relief and claiming there's "a written contract signed by everybody" which gives the Weinsteins exclusive worldwide distribution rights on The Crow reboot.
The two parties had gone back and forth today before the suit was filed, trying to hammer out a deal, but ultimately, Mr. Kavanaugh would not agree to the deal and is looking to sell the rights to others. Obviously, if he does so, the buyers would only be getting a lawsuit in return. Relativity Media released the following statement in regards tot he suit:
"This is yet another typical litigation stunt from the Weinsteins who have a long history of threatening law suits with the sole purpose of intimidation. If served, Relativity will seek immediate dismissal. While we expect these types of antics from the Weinsteins, we are shocked that a lawyer of Mr. Fields' caliber would make such false, reckless and intentionally harmful statements to the press about Relativity and Mr. Kavanaugh. We intend to seek appropriate remedies for this misconduct. Clearly this is a feeble attempt to create a press stir and a malicious effort to interfere with Relativity's development of the project."
The remake is currently in pre-production with
28 Weeks Later director, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo set to direct. The original 1994 film brought in approximately $50 million and eventually became a cult classic and a favorite of many fans.