While the Friday the 13th lawsuit between screenwriter Victor Miller and director Sean Cunningham’s Horror, Inc is one of the most documented cases in the film industry, it seems like another popular horror franchise could be heading down a similar path.
According to Friday the 13th Part 3 star and entertainment lawyer Larry Zerner, who has been keeping audiences consistently up to date with any developments in the Friday the 13th case, Hellraiser creator Clive Barker has sent a notice of termination to producers and plans to grab back rights to his book, The Hellbound Heart.
SEE ALSO: A look back at Clive Barker’s Hellraiser
For those of you who like the Friday the 13th lawsuit, now @RealCliveBarker has sued for a declaratory judgment that he can terminate his 1986 transfer and get back his rights to the "Hellraiser" franchise. https://t.co/W3TpNhGj2W pic.twitter.com/bfA2YQtQjJ
— Larry Zerner (@Zernerlaw) June 15, 2020
Zerner also added this note, stating: “Barker’s termination (if effective) would not take place until December 19, 2021,” he explains. “If the producers can get a new movie out before then, they would be legally in the clear. Just nothing new after that date.”
This is interesting as there are currently two Hellraiser projects in development for film and television. Firstly, it was recently announced that David Bruckner is currently developing a fresh take on the Hellraiser franchise for Spyglass Media which was being fast-tracked before the ongoing global health crisis.
Additionally, HBO has ordered a Hellraiser series with David Gordon Green (Halloween, Halloween Kills) directing the pilot, and Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat), and Mark Verheiden (Battlestar Galactica) penning the scripts. It is currently unclear if either project will be affected by this impending lawsuit.
Via: Bloody Disgusting
