ADV Sues Gainax for Live-Action Evangelion Rights
Here’s the abbreviated version:
In March 2003 AD Vision negotiated, with Gainax, the rights to produce live-action movies, TV shows, and video projects based on Evangelion. Between March 2004 and February 2009 ADV paid Gainax $22,515 to secure movie production rights. In February 2010, ADV paid Gainax another $100,000 to extend the rights option. Gainax refused the extension, refunded the $100,000 extension fee, and refused to provide production materials ADV requested. ADV has now filed suit in Southern District of Texas, asking a judge “to “clarify certain rights and obligations” regarding the film rights status. ADV asserts that since it paid a $100,000 extension fee eleven days before the rights expired, ADV is seeking full, universal rights to live-action Evangelion productions in perpetuity.
First, I was under the impression that ADV Films was no longer an existing corporation in the United States. Second, this certainly sounds like ADV received all of the extensions it was entitled to from 2003 until 2009, but when Gainax decided not to renew the license in 2010, ADV is insisting that Gainax doesn’t have the right to refuse. So now ADV isn’t just trying to get a rights extension, they’re trying to take full, eternal live-action rights away from Gainax. Even if the original contract stipulated that Gainax must extend the rights if ADV paid on time, that doesn’t give ADV the full and complete ownership that they’re seeking.
Source: Anime News Network
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ADV may or may not have full ownership, but it probably has a case about Gainax’s ability to change the terms of the contract. Or ADV would just let it drop. IANAL.
I was thinking the same thing about the general existence of ADV-proper. But looking through my notes on the origin of Sentai Filmworks, I can’t really find anything definitive/explicit saying that “A.D. Vision, Inc.” specifically ceased to exist… they just transferred all their assets and program rights to newly established organizations or holdings companies. (Of course, it bears mentioning that many of the “new” companies were created explicitly for these transactions.)
AEsir Holdings, LLC. acquired the old library and intellectual property rights.
SXION 23, LLC. is formed, and jointly with A.D. Vision, Inc., established Section23 Films (as distributor).
Valkyrie Media Partners, LLC. acquired The Anime Network. Seraphim Studios, LLC. acquired Amusement Park Media.
All that to say it looks like ADV is still around, but on official terms, as a sort of step-parent to all those smaller companies it formed to hold the transferred assets of its previous operations.
Unless they are going to do something with it ADV should let it go. Otherwise we’ll start having shows we’ll never get to see again because some defunct company decided to buy up the rights.
Love ADV, they put out some good shows in their time that I like but if they’re going to die then they need to die completely.
& there are still retards who have the nerve to say some nerds fansubing are “pirates” when they NEVER affect intelectuaql propierty. An american distribution company is trying to take of movie rights from the japanese for only 100k who is the pirate?
If they’re not going to produce an Evangelion live-action movie, they should at least release all their pre-production materials including any draft scripts they may have produced, so that we can laugh at it and make parody webcomic adaptations of it.
Watch out Asu– I mean Kate Rose* here comes that space monster! Let’s get you in the Evangel-Tron 3000!
*actual name for Asuka used in ADV’s pre-production concepts.
I was also ready to laugh at Akira (Traaaaviiis!!), Keanu Reeves in Cowboy Bebop, snooze through Spielberg’s Minority Report 2: GitS, and not know how to feel about the improbable yet potential awesomeness of James Cameron’s Battle Angel. I wonder if any of those are still in the works.
Just for reference, I’ve personally been told by Matt Greenfield that legally the corporate entity “AD Vision” does still exist, but it’s now entirely owned by Sojitz of Japan, which considers it an extinct subsidiary. Aesir Holdings, Sentai Filmworks, Section 23, Seraphim Studios, and so forth are legally all new, separate companies individually owned by former employees of AD Vision.