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‘Godzilla’ Lawsuit Looks Trial-Bound After Court Denies Arbitration Request

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday May 10, 2013 @ 11:14am PDTTags: Dan Lin, Doug Davison, Godzilla, Legendary Pictures, Roy Lee

The legal battle between Legendary Pictures and producers Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Doug Davison over the Godzilla reboot seems more and more certain to be headed to trial. “We’re not interested in arbitration, we want a jury to hear this case”, said the producers’ lawyer Stanton L. Stein in a hearing today in LA Superior Court. With his clients Lee and Lin looking on, Stein made clear that a jury trial is still his goal despite an agreement today by all parties to pursue mediation. “I understand why they don’t want public scrutiny of this case. I understand why they don’t want their behavior being made public”, he added of Legendary’s efforts to have the case moved to private arbitration.

Back in January dueling suits were filed between the producers and Legendary after the studio sought to remove them from the project with a tiny $25,000 payout. The trio countered with a cross complaint January 17 accusing Legendary of breach of contract. Lin, Lee and Davison are seeking millions in compensatory damages, screen credit, and participation in sequels, prequels, or further remakes. As this legal tussle continues, Godzilla is currently in production in Vancouver with the movie set for a May 16, 2014 release.

Related: ‘Godzilla’ Adds Ken Watanabe, But What About Those Producers? READ MORE »

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Sally Hawkins Joins ‘Godzilla’ Cast

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday April 5, 2013 @ 12:24pm PDTTags: Godzilla, Legendary Pictures, Sally Hawkins, Warner Bros

EXCLUSIVE: Sally Hawkins has nabbed the final lead role in Godzilla, the monster movie that Legendary and Warner Bros kicked off shooting last week … Read More »

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‘Godzilla’ Adds Ken Watanabe, But What About Those Producers?

By JEN YAMATO | Monday March 18, 2013 @ 2:33pm PDTTags: Godzilla, Ken Watanabe, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros

Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures today announced final principal casting for Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, which begins filming today in Vancouver. Ken Watanabe, repped by WME and ROAR, joins Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston in the reboot that is slated for a 3D release on May 16, 2014. Edwards is helming from a script by Max Borenstein, Frank Darabont, and Dave Callaham. But the producer roll call is where things get awkward: Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are confirmed as producing with Mary Parent and Brian Rogers, but there’s no mention of Roy Lee, Dan Lin, and Doug Davison, the trio of producers who were iced out of the project they claim they brought to Legendary in the first place. Back in January dueling suits were filed between the trio and Legendary after the studio sought to remove them from the project with a mere $25,000 payout. Lee, Lin, and Davison countered with their own cross complaint accusing Legendary of breach of contract and seeking millions in compensatory damages, screen credit, and participation in sequels, prequels, or further remakes or compensation thereof. Read More »

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‘Godzilla’ Producers Bite Legendary Back In Legal Battle

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday January 17, 2013 @ 12:24pm PSTTags: Dan Lin, Godzilla, Legendary Pictures, Roy Lee

Producers Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Doug Davison today launched their own lawsuit in the escalating legal war over the Godzilla reboot. The duo filed a suit against Legendary Pictures in LA Superior Court on Thursday, with the cross complaint alleging breach of contract among other counts (read it here). Seeking a jury trial and millions in damages, this latest legal action also names fellow Godzilla producer and Legendary President/CCO Jon Jashni as a defendant. Legendary’s Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull was not named in the suit. Today’s action comes in response to Legendary’s suit earlier this month to have Lee and Lin and fellow producer Davison removed from the movie with a $25,000 payout. An action that today’s cross complaint says came about only because the trio of producers were going to assert their claims to a project that that they say they brought to Legendary and that they developed. Read More »

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‘Godzilla’ Reboot: Will Aaron Taylor-Johnson Dodge Those Giant Reptile Feet?

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday January 10, 2013 @ 11:21am PSTTags: Aaron Johnson, Big Deals Film, Godzilla, Kick-Ass, Legendary Pictures
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Pictures is eyeing Kick-Ass star Aaron-Taylor Johnson to star in Godzilla, the Gareth Edwards-directed reboot of the franchise based on the iconic Japanese reptile. I’m told that Johnson, who starred in the Oliver Stone-directed … Read More »

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Legendary Pictures Sues To Remove ‘Godzilla’ Producers

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday January 9, 2013 @ 5:03pm PSTTags: Godzilla, Hollywood lawsuits, Legendary Pictures

Legendary Pictures today filed suit (read it here) against producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison to have them removed from the Godzilla reboot. The company also wants the court to order arbitration to stop … Read More »

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UPDATE: Mary Parent Boarding ‘Godzilla’, Which Is Getting A Frank Darabont Rewrite And Losing Roy Lee And Dan Lin

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 1:00pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Dan Lin, Frank Darabont, Godzilla, Legendary Pictures, Roy Lee, Warner Bros
Mike Fleming

UPDATE, 1 PM:: I can understand why Godzilla is trying to shed producers, because there are plenty. Mary Parent is about done with a deal to come aboard on the producer roster. Parent, whose Disruption banner is based at Paramount, takes the job after working closely with Legendary on the Guillermo del Toro-directed Pacific Rim.

PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE, 8:42 AM: As it stomps its way toward a March production start, Godzilla has two significant developments in the offing. Frank Darabont, who veered into genre territory by launching the AMC series The Walking Dead, has been hired by producer-financier Legendary Pictures to do a final rewrite on the script that was written by The Seventh Son scribe Max Borenstein.

At the same time, Warner Bros-based producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee, who were among the producers who came into Legendary with a Toho rights deal for the iconic reptile, are in a huge battle with the financier-producer. Legendary, which now controls the rights, wants to drop the producers from the film. As it stands right now, the 3D picture will be produced by Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni, along with Brian Rogers, the latter of whom was on the ground floor of the Toho deal. The film will be directed by Monsters helmer Gareth Edwards and has been dated for May 16, 2014 release. Read More »

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Godzilla Unleashed By Warner Bros For May 16, 2014

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday September 13, 2012 @ 6:33pm PDTTags: Godzilla, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures have set their reboot on the Godzilla franchise for May 16, 2014.  And it will be in 3D. The move was made by studio domestic distribution president Dan Fellman and international distribution … Read More »

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‘Pacific Rim’, ‘Man Of Steel’, ‘The Hobbit’, ‘Godzilla’: What Comic-Con Was Made For

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday July 14, 2012 @ 6:06pm PDTTags: Comic-Con Wrap-Up, Godzilla, Guillermo Del Toro, Legendary Pictures, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Warner Bros, Zach Snyder

Luke Y. Thompson is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of Comic-Con.

For the Warner Bros/Legendary panel Comic-Con‘s big screen expanded to Cinerama proportions to impress fans with Pacific Rim and Godzilla teases while Man of Steel moved at least one fan to tears. For good measure, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey footage mixed familiar and new. Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick, dressed as David Tennant’s Doctor Who, moderated what was probably the most anticipated panel of the convention. He came in with a Sonic Screwdriver remote control, and suddenly two extra giant side screens were revealed as the black curtains peeled back. (Sort of like the Terminator 3D screen at Universal Studios.) This feels like what Cinerama was always supposed to be.

Related: Comic-Con: ‘Act Of Valor’s Scott Waugh To Helm ‘Hawken’

Legendary’s Thomas Tull came onstage, saying that his having a mic up there was a sign of the apocalypse, then briefly showed off how all the screens worked together for a Pacific Rim tease (metallic panels, serial numbers, vague sketches of pods – a mere taste for what was coming). Then Guillermo del Toro came out to say, in his inimitable, profane-comic fashion, “I’m shitting in my pants right now.” As he spoke and was pictured on the center screen, production designs and on-set footage flanked him on the side screens. He said it was important to have a sense of romantic adventure — not a war movie. And that it was important to have a sense of awe in a movie with giant robots and monsters. Del Toro said this will be the only thing shown until Christmas, and that this footage was just for us at Comic-con. Admonished “you motherfuckers with the James Bond cameras in the glasses, take them off.”

Related:Seth MacFarlane Says “I’d Be Open To Making Ted 2″: Comic-Con

There was a huge reaction for Charlie Day coming out, and Ron Perlman (only in cavernous Hall H). Charlie Hunnam and Rink Kikuchi followed. Cheers for them too, but not quite as extra loud. How does Perlman feel about coming to Comic-Con? “It’s a miracle I’m still invited.” He says Guillermo’s standards are clearly plummeting since he keeps inviting Perlman back. Read More »

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