Michael Mann’s effort to reclaim copyright to his screenplay for the 1995 film “Heat” has prompted a lawsuit from New Regency, the company that produced it. In a complaint filed Friday, New Regency argues that it retains ownership and asks for a declaration that termination notices submitted by Mann’s lawyers are void.
The disagreement centers on whether the screenplay qualifies as a work made for hire or whether Mann transferred rights that he can now reclaim. The Copyright Act allows authors to terminate assignments of rights after 35 years. New Regency contends that the screenplay was created under a work made for hire arrangement, making it ineligible for that termination process.
Mann’s lawyers sent notices earlier this year seeking to exercise his right to recover the copyright. His representatives said they would contest the lawsuit vigorously and expressed confidence that the courts would uphold his statutory rights. They described the material at issue as Mann’s personal writing on several screenplays during the 1980s that eventually became “Heat,” which he wrote, produced and directed.
Mann began developing the film’s story and characters in the 1970s, a process that extended over two decades. According to New Regency’s complaint, Warner Bros. obtained the screenplay rights in 1994 through a deal with Mann’s loan-out company. The lawsuit alleges that the agreement expressly established a work made for hire arrangement rather than an assignment of rights that could later be terminated.
The complaint also describes an earlier transfer that Mann’s lawyers initially identified as the basis for his claim. They told New Regency that he had assigned his rights to his loan-out companies in 1988 and sought to terminate that agreement, according to the suit. When the company requested a copy, the lawyers said the agreement had been oral. New Regency disputes that basis for termination and also challenges two subsequent notices citing other agreements.
The litigation comes as Mann prepares to shoot “Heat 2.” Warner Bros., which had originally planned to produce the sequel, withdrew from the project last year. Amazon MGM Studios subsequently acquired the film. According to the complaint, both Mann and New Regency have reached agreements with Amazon that account for the copyright dispute, including Mann’s assignment to Amazon of any rights he succeeds in reclaiming.
Those arrangements mean the ownership dispute should not affect the sequel, regardless of its outcome. Mann’s representative said the legal action is unrelated to production of “Heat 2” and confirmed that filming is scheduled to begin on January 19.
