Legal Battle Over ‘The Return Of The Living Dead’ Walks Among Us
“DO YOU WANNA PARTY?!?” Because it’s party time in the courthouse as a lawsuit over the rights to the I.P. of the beloved 1985 cult horror-comedy, The Return of the Living Dead, was filed last Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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The plaintiff, Living Dead Media, LLC., is claiming ownership of the copyright to the original screenplay, the film’s underlying script, and other trademarks. The entity is suing ROTLD Originals LLC (which was formed early last month) whose formation document was signed by Tina herself – Beverly Dawn Hartley (aka Beverly Randolph).
Not only that, but the court documents allege that other actors from the original film may be members and have not been disclosed. The documents also claim that ROTLD has no rights, title, or interest in the original film.
“However, simply being an actor in a film does not grant or convey any particular rights to that character or any other character or any rights to the Original Film, any derivative works, or related intellectual property. Ms. Hartley has no rights, title, or interest in the Original Film,” the lawsuit conveys.
It’s added that “neither Ms. Hartley, ROTLD, nor any of the other purported members have any rights whatsoever in any of the characters or merchandise that is being sold by these licensees.”
The lawsuit also claims that the new firm uses Hartley’s credentials as an actor in the original film “to bolster the erroneous claims that Ms. Hartley and/or ROTLD have an interest in LDM’s intellectual property.”
It claims further that such actions “are attempting to interfere with active and existing contracts between LDM and these licensees.” The documents are available HERE.
Last year, LDM announced a reboot of the franchise from their now defunct website (never a good sign), but that has obviously been put on hold, and probably for the best.
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Return of the Living Dead takes place on July 3rd, 1984, in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s about a group of Punkers trapped in a mortuary with the mortician (obviously), a warehouse owner, and his two dim-witted employees who accidentally unseal a canister that leads to the dead rising from the grave, and they’re ready to party.
This movie is a timeless classic with a killer 80s soundtrack (featuring The Cramps, T.S.O.L., and The Damned), and it holds up better than many serious horror flicks from that decade. Four sequels followed, but none of them came close to what made that first one so special.
Another reason why these greedy studio heads should just find something new, and let sleeping corpses lie. If only one of them had some “braaaaains!!!!” Catch the original on Prime.
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