Warring Studios "Close" to 'Watchmen' Settlement

After it appeared this thing would devolve into the Hollywood Missile Crisis just about a week ago, attorneys for Fox and warner Bros. are apparently close to reaching a settlement over the rights to Watchmen. The Hollywood Reporter cites sources familiar with the proceedings, which spilled out of Judge Gary Allan Feess' courtroom after hizzoner ruled that Fox did retain rights to the film in a December 24th decision. The two sides found some common ground late last week, requesting that Feess delay the January 20th hearing at which other issues would have been discussed, debated, and ultimately ruled upon. It was a big weekend for Watchmen; while the film got plenty of attention from its new ad campaign, which was seen throughout the NFL playoffs, lawyers for both studios continued to work towards a mutually-agreeable end to the legal squabble, which officially dates back almost a year, when Fox originally filed paperwork in the matter. If you're new to all of this: Fox owned the rights to make a Watchmen movie about 15 years ago, surrendered those rights to producer Larry Gordon, but was to receive a buyout amount plus a cut of the profits if a movie was ever made. Fox has never received a dime and now that Warner Bros. seems poised to rake it in, Fox is exercising its contractual rights. Or at least that's how Feess sees it. One would suspect that the two sides are looking to wrap this up prior to the January 20th court date, which means they've got seven days to reach a conclusion. In the balance is the March 6th release, one of the biggest opening days of the year. Warner Bros. will probably have to fork over a percentage of the film's earnings and throw in some other property in order to make this go away. Hopefully we'll know more details sooner than later.