‘Spider-Man’ Musical Lawsuit Gets Court Date
U2‘s Bono and the Edge, director Julie Taymor and the other producers of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will meet in court on May 28th in their legal battle over the infamous show.
Taymor, who co-wrote the script and was the musical’s first director, initially filed suit against the show’s producers, plus composers Bono and the Edge, in November 2011 after they fired her from the disastrous, injury-prone show in March, the New York Times reports. Taymor filed a copyright suit claiming the producers were making money off her ideas and script and that she was owed $1 million. The producers countersued, claiming she had been fired for breach of contract.
‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ Reboot Escapes the Train-Wreck
Judge Katherine B. Forrest set the New York court date after four days of closed-door sessions that failed to produce any sort of settlement over copyright control and profits, despite coming to terms in principle in August. What’s more, last February, both parties reportedly settled their dispute over Taymor’s firing, with the producers withdrawing their breach of contract claim and allotting Taymor full royalty fees for her work.
According to a source, however, both sides are now at an impasse regarding creative rights and control of Spider-Man, as the producers are now considering future runs of the show and overseas tours. The anonymous source did add that the sides are still talking and that a settlement is possible.
Despite receiving mostly negative reviews and costing a whopping $75 million, Spider-Man has become a Broadway fan favorite, grossing more than $1 million a week. That number, however, is about the same as its weekly running costs, and the show has seen a dip in ticket sales recently.