Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Movies and TV => Topic started by: Peter Ahlstrom on April 17, 2006, 03:25:11 PM
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quoted from http://www.conlanpress.com/youcanhelp/
Since 2004, London-based Granada Media (a multibillion-dollar entertainment and news conglomerate) has sold over six hundred thousand DVDs and videotapes of THE LAST UNICORN. They've also made cable broadcast deals for it in several different countries, and they sold the live action remake rights for a quarter of a million dollars.
The film is based on Peter S. Beagle's famous book. He also wrote the screenplay. The film is as good as it is because he put everything he had into it.
And you know what? Granada Media refuses to pay Peter what they owe him. They've made millions on his creativity. They owe him hundreds of thousands of dollars. But they won't pay up.
---ALSO---
In 1978, Peter wrote the screenplay for the animated LORD OF THE RINGS. It took draft after draft written under ferocious deadline pressure to make everything work. Producer Saul Zaentz made a lot of promises to Peter in order to get him to do that work in return for no money beyond his original "consulting fee" of only $5,000 -- promises that Zaentz almost immediately reneged on.
The animated movie was only a moderate success at the box office, but the power of Peter's script helped the film work magic on a young Peter Jackson, inspiring him to go read Tolkien's books. (Hear Jackson say so for himself at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, on February 6th, 2004.) Where that led...well, we all know where that led.
But we don't all know that Saul Zaentz has been paid nearly two hundred million dollars out of the earnings of Peter Jackson's films, as payment for Zaentz's Tolkien rights. And we don't all know that the Saul Zaentz Company refuses to use any of their huge income to finally make good on the promises that Zaentz made to Peter, even though (a) they could easily afford to do so, and (b) without Peter's hard work they never would have earned any of that money.
Adding insult to injury, when asked to do the right thing they claim they've never profited from owning the Tolkien rights.
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The Lord of the Rings animated by Ralph Bakshi or the Return of the King by Rankin Bass.? Id suspect Rankin Bass because they made Unicorn at about the same time.
- Edit... but I'd be wrong... IMDB says Bakshi's LOTR had a Beagle Screenplay.
This is a travisty, because the Last Unicorn was probably the best animated film of its day when it came to plot. Totally amazing in a million different ways from its cast all the way down to its heart wrenching love story. I remember that the red bull terrorized the kids in the theater because parents failed to heed the rating at the time (which I think was PG). Kids were screaming in horror and crying loudly, it was great.
As for the Bakshi screenplay I loved it, it was dark, and scary and all sorts of cool.
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I am Smedrick! Last of the red hot swammies!
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Am I the only person to have found The Last Unicorn to be hopelessly boring?
What are the earnings numbers based on?
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No, I saw it for the first time about 2 months ago.... I think I was a little old to appreciate it.
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The amount the said product sold, and the price at which said selling happened.
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I didn't like it much, e. I haven't seen it in ages, though.
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I liked it (I haven't seen it in a while). I've always considered it a chick-flick.
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I strongly urge all of you who saw it as kids to see it again now -- because it makes no frickin' sense at all.
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You mean that the really really mean ruler who is supposed to be an evil king.. doesn't seem that evil, and his son is really really good, and doesn't seem to have a clue what is going on in the kingdom?
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I still liked it the last time I saw it.
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me too. I still think its good, even though the Rankin Bass anime is dated.
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We own it on DVD. I agree that it's a chick flick, though, because it always makes me cry when I watch it.
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My Sisters both love that movie, and I do mean love.
As for the whole money thingy, sucks for him but that's what he gets for not getting it in writing, its obvious that he has no legal grounds in getting the money. Good luck to him but I doubt he'll get much of anything.
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Did you read it? He DOES have it in writing.
Well, the amount of writing he has for Lord of the Rings seems pretty sparse, but the in-writing stuff for Last Unicorn is pretty extensive. What he lacks is the power to fight a big company's lawyers in court in two separate countries. They are getting away with highway robbery.
Hollywood companies always do this to writers. Harry Harrison never saw a dime from Soylent Green either--supposedly it never made a profit. Yeah right.
If I were ever selling any movie rights, I wouldn't do anything without a percentage of gross ticket receipts.
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I know what earnings numbers are based on in principle, but where's he getting the figures that say he's owed cash? Maybe they haven't actually made profits. Publically traded companies have to publish these figures, so it's a matter of research. Then he shouldn't need a lawyer. Just point out. They made x dollars and spent y. X-y=z, thus they owe me a share of z. that's straightforward, brooks no argument.
Private companies, might be more difficult. I'm not sure how easily the figures could be gotten. Though I'm sure a court order would be sufficient. However, they're records may be afu, so it would take a while to tease it out, and then you'd have to convince the 3rd party judge.
so, basically, what I'm really asking is this: Does he have numbers that demonstrate the company made money off The Last Unicorn? Or is he just assuming and trying to get rabid InterWebs denizens and hardcore sff fans worked up in his favor?
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He has numbers. Read the page.
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Poor Peter S. Beagle. We appreciate your writing...just not monetarily.