New Regency sues Michael Mann to reassert ownership over Heat ahead of the high-profile follow-up to the 1995 crime drama classic.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in California, New Regency claims that Mann cannot exploit a provision of copyright law that allows creators to regain ownership of their works after a certain period of time. He is seeking a court order specifying that he retains the rights to the script of Heat.
“The storyline is not subject to termination,” the complaint states.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mann said the director was “confident that the courts will vindicate Michael Mann’s statutory rights under copyright law.”
“This filing concerns Michael Mann’s original, personal writing on several screenplays during the 1980s that evolved into the iconic 1995 film Heat that Mann wrote, produced and directed,” the spokesperson added. “After 40 years, Michael Mann is exercising the authors’ right to recover their work and, in this case, Michael Mann’s original creation.”
The file precedes Mann preparing to film Heat 2a sequel starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and the late Val Kilmer. The upcoming film is based on Mann’s 2022 novel of the same name, which serves as both a prequel and sequel to the original.
In Friday’s lawsuit, New Regency argues that Mann’s offers to terminate New Regency’s copyrights for Heat are invalid because the director wrote the screenplay as a work made for hire.
Earlier this year, Mann issued three notices to New Regency seeking to reclaim the copyright to the script and underlying material from Heatsparking a dispute with the company over who owns the rights to the film, according to the complaint. The first notice sought to terminate all copyright concessions for Heatthe lawsuit says, including an alleged 1988 oral agreement between Mann and two companies he controlled. The director later reportedly told New Regency that the mission was never formally put in writing and that he had only recently discovered the arrangement.
The assignment of copyright is important because Mann claims he wrote Heat-related materials as an independent author rather than as an employee. The distinction could turn the tide since copyrights in works made for hire generally cannot be terminated since the employer, rather than the individual writer, is legally considered the author.
“The termination notices obscure Regency’s title to the screenplay and harm its ability to develop, finance, and license works derived from it,” the complaint states. “Furthermore, certain provisions of the agreements that Mann and Regency each entered into with Amazon regarding Heat 2 depend on the outcome of this dispute.
Read Mann’s full statement below:
This record has to do with the original and personal writing that Michael Mann did on several screenplays during the 1980s and which evolved into the iconic 1995 film Heat which Mann wrote, produced and directed.
After 40 years, Michael Mann is exercising the authors’ right to recover their work and, in this case, Michael Mann’s original creation.
We will vigorously defend this action and are confident that the courts will vindicate Michael Mann’s statutory rights under copyright law.
For clarification, this has no connection with the production of Heat 2, which will begin filming on January 19.
Gn entert
