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Stan Lee to be Paid Millions for Spidey
Soldrinero writes "After a tough legal battle that began in 2002 (mentioned in a previous Slashdot story), Stan Lee will finally get his due. A recent court decision says that Marvel owes Lee 10% of their profits for works based on his creations. Since three recent Marvel-based movies are in the all-time top 100 for box-office gross, this will be a sizable chunk of change."
The contract stated that Lee would get 'him to 10 percent of TV, movie and merchandising deals'. **AA can't use only the laws it likes; I just wish more actors would (could) go freelance and rid us of this type of cancer. If more people had similar clauses then it would be more cost effective to cut out the middleman and figure out someway to produce entertainment material on their own - visionary may be seeing some kind of internet distribution system for just a mere fraction of the cost of big name distributors. This won't happen anytime soon because Stephen King tried it already and it didn't work but he was a visionary and one day it will work.
I'm happy to see that he's being compensated, albeit after a bit too much time.
Maybe now he can stop hanging out at The Android's Dungeon.
It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
I thought there was no such thing as intellectual property according to 90% of the people here. So this is a bad thing right? Or is it only OK when you download Mp3s and movies?
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
"I am very gratified by the judge's decision, although, since I am deeply fond of Marvel and the people there, I sincerely regret that this situation had to come to this," Lee told the Hollywood Reporter.
He then shouted, "Excelsior!" and flew away.
Good call from the court.
He filed the lawsuit in November 2002, pointing out a clause in his contract that entitled him to 10 percent of TV, movie and merchandising deals, an amount he thought was significantly higher than the $1 million-per-year salary he currently receives. Marvel tried to find a loophole in the wording.
Seems like a no-brainer. It was in the contract, Marvel tried to finangle their way out of it, and they failed. Good show, I must say. Good for him for staking out the claim, and calling Marvel on their unethical business practices.
So, bottom line, everything aside: it was in his contract, so I don't see how Marvel can appeal. They keep their merchandising revenue anyways.
"There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all."
- Bob Dylan
What about the co-creator, Steve Ditko? Where's his payday?
Speak truth to power.
He'd better invest in some auditing. You know the studios will cook the books with all sorts of extra "fees" for stuff that has no value, reducing the bottom line.
Just like record production companies hire all sorts of expensive behind the scenes "help", reducing the amount of profit that is applied against the artist's advance.
So I hope that Stan Lee gets his cut from the gross take, and nothing else.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Lawyer Man, Lawyer Man
Get's the biggest settlement that he can
Sues a company, any size
Get's cash and a a new ride
Look out, here comes the Lawyer Man
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
Never ask for points on the profits. No movie has ever made a profit.
Of course movies make profits. But where those profits are buried in the accountancy, nobody will fess up lightly. I hope Stan Lee has an ironclad judgement that can't be wiggled out with some fancy bookwork.
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But Marvel will appeal.
The whole point here is to try and run-out-the-clock on Stan Lee. The guys in his 80s. They're hoping he'll just go ahead and die before they have to pay. If he did die, does Marvel then owe Lee's children (does he have any?)
Insurance companies view this as a legit business practice. They'll often sit on someone's benefits, and make them jump through as many legal hoops as possible, if they know they have a terminal disease, or are otherwise close to death.
At any rate, we can all agree that Spiderman sucks.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
You're making me Ang Lee. You wouldn't like me when I'm Ang Lee.
This flies in the face of science.
An observant reader writes in suggesting that perhaps Marvel is correct about not paying Stan Lee his 10% citing Issue 299 of the Fantastic Four where Dr. Doom destroyed the time continuum of the year during which Stan Lee retired, thereby nullifying his contract. While he get a No-Prize for his efforts another valiant reader mentions that perhaps Stan Lee will be triumphant because he is in fact Captain Marvel, to which we reply: Captain Marvel is dead.
Nuff said.
Ya know what they say, debt is an asset.
Final judgement.. -1 zillion bucks!
Thing is, he sued Marvel, he's entitled to 10% of whatever Marvel charged the movie folks for the rights to make spiderman, not 10% of what the movie made.
Paramount (or whoever) aren't even defendants in this suit, IIRC.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
And what about Daredevil and Elektra?
No way. If I were Stan Lee, I'd sue to make sure my name stayed off the credits!
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Yeah, Lee is a creative genius - not. Stan Lee was merely the relative of the publisher. It's good to have friends in high places.
The most obvious proof of this is a superficial glance at his career. When he's working with people like Ditko and Kirby, he's nothing short of a genius. On the other hand, when he "creates" on his own, he comes up with... "She-Hulk" (or Stripperella). Few people ever bother to make that correlation.
I worked on a project a few years ago that was nominated for an Eisner. We were a complete longshot, since the publishing run was smaller than the voting body, but someone asked if what we'd say if we won. My suggestion that "it's an honor to accept an award from one of the few people to have emerged from the Golden Age of Comics without Stan Lee's cock in their ass" struck them as being a tad excessive. But it would have been a nice sentiment.
Now Will's left the building. Kirby's gone. Ditko's gone off the deepend. And we're left left with Stan.
Sigh...
It is funny that they seem to have a better strangle hold over the governments that even Microsoft. I mean let us be honest. If NBC or Viacom went out of business what harm would it do? The US might loose it's edge in really bland entertainment?
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I don't know why parent is modded as Funny. It's actually insightful. The MPAA and RIAA have single-handedly destroyed copyright law in this country, impinged on fair-use, and hampered technological progress. I would venture to say the only lobbying group that has a bigger hold on the U.S. government is the military-industrial complex.