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Fox in hot water over ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’
LOS ANGELES: It is not just India that is battling with lack of respect for intellectual property rights. In the US Rupert Murdoch’s Fox has landed in trouble over its adventure film The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen which ran in Indian theatres recently.
Film producer Martin Poll and screenwriter Larry Cohen are seeking damages from the studio to the tune of $100 million. In the suit, the two of them have accused Fox of stealing their ideas of converting the characters from book to screen. Interestingly reports indicate that the film has made just $66 million at the box office till date.
Cohen and Poll have said that they had discussed a similar idea with Fox executives a decade ago. The only difference is that the film was to be called Cast of Characters. They allege that Fox simply repackaged the story and used many of the same characters that had been discussed.
The film stars Sean Connery as the fictional adventurer Allan Quartermain, who leads Victorian literary figures to form a league of 19th-century superheroes recruited by British intelligence to battle an evil madman, known as the Fantom. The film also stars Nasseruddin Shah. As is generally the case Fox has dismissed the suit as being nonsensical as the film is directly based on the cartoon-illustrated novel by comic book creator Alan Moore. The book was published four years ago an AP report informs.
This is not the first time Fox has run afoul as far as film ideas are concerned. Two years ago a jury ordered 20th Century Fox to pay $19 million for stealing a high school teacher’s ideas for the Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas comedy Jingle All the Way.
At that time Murray Hill Publications which bought the rights to a play Could This Be Christmas noted that there were 36 points of similarity between the film and the play. The courts decision was seen as being a landmark precedent for independent producers. The play was written by a school teacher and author Brian Webster.
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Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat Premieres 14 Feb on Zee
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat world TV premiere 14 Feb at 8pm passion meets politics.
MUMBAI: Cupid’s arrow just got a plot twist and it’s heading straight for your TV screen. This Valentine’s Day, Zee Cinema is turning up the heat with the world television premiere of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, a raw, rule-breaking romantic drama that proves love doesn’t always come wrapped in roses.
Set to air on Saturday, 14 February at 8pm, the film stars Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa, directed by Milap Zaveri. It dives headfirst into obsession, heartbreak, and the kind of unconditional love that leaves scorch marks. Rane plays Vikramaditya, a powerful politician whose all-consuming passion for actress Adaa spirals into chaos when his feelings go unreturned unleashing a storm of emotion, misunderstanding, and life-altering consequences.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. Audiences are clearly craving intense love stories over sugar-coated ones, and this film taps straight into that vein. Harshvardhan Rane already has a loyal fanbase from his cult hit Sanam Teri Kasam, which cemented his status as the go-to guy for heart-wrenching romance especially among younger viewers who keep the film on repeat.
Milap Zaveri captured the film’s beating heart, “This film is about love that doesn’t follow rules. With Valentine’s Day being a time when audiences gravitate towards romantic narratives, the television premiere of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat on Zee Cinema felt like the perfect fit. The continued love for intense romances shows there is a strong emotional appetite for such stories.”
Rane himself called it a story rooted in messy, honest emotion, “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat explores love in its most intense and vulnerable form where emotions are messy and deeply human. It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from passion or pain on Valentine’s Day making it even more special as it reflects the many shades of love people experience.”
Sonam Bajwa added her take, “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is not a conventional love story, it’s raw, intense and emotional. Valentine’s Day is usually associated with happy romance but this film explores love in its most vulnerable form.”
So if your Valentine’s plans include more than chocolates and clichés, tune in to Zee Cinema at 8pm on 14 February. Because sometimes the most unforgettable love stories aren’t the ones that end neatly, they’re the ones that leave you questioning just how far passion can push before everything changes.
