WIZARD OF OZ Star's Estate Sues Warner Bros Over 'Making Of' Documentary
Deadline reports that the estate of the late son of the actor that played the Tin Man in THE WIZARD OF OZ is suing Warner Bros over a documentary titled "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic". Kelly Brandt of Haley's estate is looking for a summary judgment that names the estate 50 percent owners of the doc.
"Every day that passes leads to dollars lost by the joint adventurers due to Defendant's unilateral and unlawful decision to both mothball the Project and exclude Plaintiff from the competing derivative work and joint venture opportunity," reads the civil complaint.
Read the original report here.
The suit is also asking Warner Bros to cover the estate's legal costs and account all profits from the documentary and a new doc that uses material from the original 'making of' film.
"Making of a Movie Classic" has been included alongside THE WIZARD OF OZ video and DVD copies since the '80s, with a profit of more than $4 million. The Haley estate has received 2.1 million as of August 2013.
The suit claims that Warner Bros has tried to acquire all rights to the doc for $150,000 since 2011, which has left the pic without distribution options and barred the estate from its share of recent Oz spin-offs like Oz: The Great & Powerful.
THE WIZARD OF OZ is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
