By RANDALL CHASEAP Business Writer
DOVER, Delaware (AP) -- Attorneys for the Tribune Co. have asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to declare the company owns the television and movie rights to comic book character Dick Tracy.
Tribune Media Services, a Tribune subsidiary, has been battling for years with actor Warren Beatty over rights to the cartoon icon, which Tribune says represent tens of millions of dollars in potential income to the bankruptcy estate.
"Mr. Beatty's conduct and wrongful claims have effectively locked away certain motion picture and television rights to the Dick Tracy Property from such productive and profitable uses, to the tremendous detriment of the debtor, its estate and its creditors," attorneys for Tribune wrote in a filing submitted Thursday to the bankruptcy court in Wilmington.
Bertram Fields, an attorney representing Beatty in a federal lawsuit against Tribune in California, described the bankruptcy filing as "hogwash."
"It's a nuisance lawsuit by a bankrupt company and they should be ashamed of themselves," he said.
Tribune's filing related to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy automatically stayed the California lawsuit, which Beatty filed in November in response to Tribune's assertion that, because he had reneged on a 1985 agreement, the rights had reverted back to Tribune. Fields said he would seek a waiver of the stay so that the California action can proceed, but that he also was prepared to battle Tribune in bankruptcy court.
The agreement at the center of the dispute paved the way for the 1990
movie "Dick Tracy," in which Beatty starred. According to the
agreement, Tribune could seek reversion of the rights granted to Beatty
if, within five years of the movie's release, he had not begun
principal photography on another feature film or television series or
special. The agreement allowed Tribune to serve notice to Beatty after
five years, giving him two more years to begin principal photography on
another project.
The agreement was amended in 1988 to allow Beatty to assign certain rights to Disney for production of an ice show in the mid-1990s. According to a lawsuit filed by Beatty in 2006, and subsequently dismissed, Disney reassigned the rights to Beatty in 2005, without Tribune's consent.
Beatty claims in his latest lawsuit that he began principal photography on a television special in November, and that Tribune is thus precluded from trying to effect a reversion of the rights.
Tribune, which gave its initial reversion notice in 2006, claimed in its bankruptcy filing that Beatty has failed to prove that photography on the TV special has begun, and that a $15,000 check he sent to Tribune as payment for the half-four special was just a sham attempt to retain the rights to Dick Tracy. Tribune returned the check.
Fields said the television special was completed months ago, and that he believes it is ready for airing.
"It's very clear that Warren has the rights... He's acting well within the contract," he said.
According to Tribune, Beatty sent a letter to the company last April saying he was prepared to do a TV special "in order to preserve my rights," even though he did not think the special would benefit either party. Beatty instead suggested that Tribune extend the rights and give him until November 2013 to begin work on a motion picture or television project, according to Tribune.
Tribune rejected the extension but offered a counterproposal, which it said Beatty rejected.
The agreement was amended in 1988 to allow Beatty to assign certain rights to Disney for production of an ice show in the mid-1990s. According to a lawsuit filed by Beatty in 2006, and subsequently dismissed, Disney reassigned the rights to Beatty in 2005, without Tribune's consent.
Beatty claims in his latest lawsuit that he began principal photography on a television special in November, and that Tribune is thus precluded from trying to effect a reversion of the rights.
Tribune, which gave its initial reversion notice in 2006, claimed in its bankruptcy filing that Beatty has failed to prove that photography on the TV special has begun, and that a $15,000 check he sent to Tribune as payment for the half-four special was just a sham attempt to retain the rights to Dick Tracy. Tribune returned the check.
Fields said the television special was completed months ago, and that he believes it is ready for airing.
"It's very clear that Warren has the rights... He's acting well within the contract," he said.
According to Tribune, Beatty sent a letter to the company last April saying he was prepared to do a TV special "in order to preserve my rights," even though he did not think the special would benefit either party. Beatty instead suggested that Tribune extend the rights and give him until November 2013 to begin work on a motion picture or television project, according to Tribune.
Tribune rejected the extension but offered a counterproposal, which it said Beatty rejected.
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