Case Studies in Intellectual Property: Dick Tracy

[Snarf Zagyg]

I would have thought that if it were just custom and practice in contract writing with the intention to prevent IP from laying fallow too long that the contract language would have adjusted over time to block recurring stuff like the movie critic in costume stunt which ends up with the IP actually laying fallow for decades.

Contractual language has evolved. But ... you have to remember a few things.

1. IP is considered much more valuable now than it was back in the day. The Dick Tracy movie was done in 1990, so the contract (with attendant rights re: IP and sequels) predates that.

2. It does cost money and time to maintain rights- depending on the contractual language, you might have to have actual screenings, etc. While Warren Beatty seems to have arrived at a clever solution, it's still not costless to get people together, shoot it, and book time on a station.

3. No contract is perfect; for example, look at the current dispute between HBO and Paramount over South Park. HBO thought they were getting exclusive rights to South Park for their streaming service (during that time period when Paramount was in turmoil and didn't care much about streaming; see also Yellowstone). So now there's arguing over what constitutes a "season" and whether an "event" is an episode, a movie, or neither.

In general, the issue of rights comes to the forefront because people are maintaining these rights in the hope/assumption that someone will buy them out of the rights at the end. The D&D movie rights were another example of this. A lot of times, when there is an issue of clouded rights, you just end up seeing money and/or producer credits handed out.

 

[Ryujin]

Contractual language has evolved. But ... you have to remember a few things.

1. IP is considered much more valuable now than it was back in the day. The Dick Tracy movie was done in 1990, so the contract (with attendant rights re: IP and sequels) predates that.

2. It does cost money and time to maintain rights- depending on the contractual language, you might have to have actual screenings, etc. While Warren Beatty seems to have arrived at a clever solution, it's still not costless to get people together, shoot it, and book time on a station.

3. No contract is perfect; for example, look at the current dispute between HBO and Paramount over South Park. HBO thought they were getting exclusive rights to South Park for their streaming service (during that time period when Paramount was in turmoil and didn't care much about streaming; see also Yellowstone). So now there's arguing over what constitutes a "season" and whether an "event" is an episode, a movie, or neither.

In general, the issue of rights comes to the forefront because people are maintaining these rights in the hope/assumption that someone will buy them out of the rights at the end. The D&D movie rights were another example of this. A lot of times, when there is an issue of clouded rights, you just end up seeing money and/or producer credits handed out.

Lucky if they can get away with producer credits. They've been significantly cheapened over the years. Hell, in a couple of years I'm likely to have a couple, myself, for a horror film and a fantasy series, and I've got little to do with actual production. I could have already had one for the "Strowlers" series, but declined.

 

[Willie the Duck]

Would anyone want another Dick Tracy movie!? Did anyone want the first one?

The Dick Tracy movie just came out at the wrong time period I think.

... it wasn't that bad. And Max Allan Collins apparently liked it enough to write two novels that serve as sequels to his novelization of the film.

I don't think it was bad at all. It was was a perfectly fine movie for which no one was clamoring, with an advertising budget it couldn't hope to make up, and indeed put out in the wrong decade. It was trying to be the next Batman (all the Mystery Men movies of the 90s were), when it really would have done better alongside (and with a total budget equaling or being less than) Superman II. It was corny and knew it. It used bright primary colors (offset by shadows) instead of Batman black-in-shadow. It included a plucky kid who at one point saves the day. It features dueling female love interests for the male protagonist (a Helen and an Amy). The special effects are almost exclusively in the makeup department, with limited fantastic physics using techniques that were used in the 50s. It was a nice, simple, late 70s/early 80s hokey comic book movie that would have worked just fine in a pre-Batman world (and pre-Batman budget). Especially if it was a property that people wanted to see remade. As to that, I have no idea how it works. The Adams Family was out of date and out of touch (not as much, being peoples' parent's IP, not their grandparents) when the

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Lucky if they can get away with producer credits. They've been significantly cheapened over the years. Hell, in a couple of years I'm likely to have a couple, myself, for a horror film and a fantasy series, and I've got little to do with actual production. I could have already had one for the "Strowlers" series, but declined.

My wife loved Strowlers!

 

[Ryujin]

My wife loved Strowlers!

There are still a couple to come. There was a group making a Hawai'ian take on the world and there should be a second in the Mongolian series. Things have been a little chaotic with Ben stepping down as president and The Fantasy Network closing down, so several projects are delayed.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Is the Dick tracy IP really worth much? I can't see a movie or series based on Dick Tracy making much.

No, that's what make the OP so sad. A miser hording worthless treasure.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The Adams Family was out of date and out of touch

People enjoyed the films because they liked the concept and characters, not because of nostalgia for a TV series most folk are not old enough to remember.

 

[MGibster]

People enjoyed the films because they liked the concept and characters, not because of nostalgia for a TV series most folk are not old enough to remember.

The Adams Family was out of date and out of touch (not as much, being peoples' parent's IP, not their grandparents) when the

I don't know how old you two are, but I was born in the 70s roughly a full decade after it was cancelled, and The Addams Family television show was a staple of daytime television while I was growing up. The majority of teenagers who went to see the movie in 1991 were familiar with the property because they watched the show when they were younger. Contrast that with Dick Tracy, I doubt any of the teenagers who went to see it had seen the Dick Tracy serials from the 30s, the movie from the 40s, and I bet a lot of them had never read the comic. Dick Tracy was out of date and out of touch, but The Addams Family wasn't.

Oh, and The Addams Family gave us one of the best pinball games ever!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

To my mind, the best chance a Dick Tracy project would have at being profitable is as a Tv series on the CW or someone’s streaming service.

Probably animated, but live action could work, too.*



* it would probably be awesome if done like certain music videos…

 

[MGibster]

* it would probably be awesome if done like certain music videos…

I love Primus. That video also reminds me of those Engergizer ads from the 90s with the plastic family.