American Studio Sues Over Old Boy

An unspecified American production company has reportedly filed suit in Tokyo District Court against Japanese publisher Futabasha and Old Boy manga creators Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. The American plaintiff claims to have signed a contract with Futabasha for exclusive rights to produce a cinematic adaptation of the Old Boy manga. The American producer began work on an animated adaptation of the manga in 2007, but stopped work after learning that Futabasha had previously sold Old Boy adaptation rights to Korean studio Show East, which produced director Park Chan-Wook’s 2003 live-action Old Boy movie. The American plaintiff claims that the agreement between Futabasha & Show East was still in effect when the American contract was signed, thus Futabasha did not actually have the authority to negotiate a valid American licensing contract at the time.

The Sankei News reports that Futabasha has admitted some oversight, but claims that the contract signed with the American studio was valid at the time it was signed; therefore Futabasha is not responsible for the American studio’s decision to stop development of its animated adaptation. The American plaintiff is seeking 245.7 million yen (US $2.74 million) in compensation for its uncompleted work.

Source: Anime News Network