Nov 21, 2008 12:42 pm US/Mountain
Warren Beatty's Plan For Dick Tracy Film Thwarted
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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The Tribune began distributing the "Dick Tracy" comic strip in 1931, and Warren Beatty starred in and directed in the 1990 film version.
AP
Actor Warren Beatty says he wants to make another Dick Tracy flick, but he's being thwarted by Tribune Media Services, which claims the rights to the cartoon detective.
Beatty, 71, who starred in and directed the 1990 film version of "Dick Tracy," based on the classic comic strip, is seeking a ruling in Los Angeles federal court that would allow him to retain the rights to Tracy.
The Chicago-based Tribune, which owns radio and TV stations nationwide and newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, began distributing the comic strip in 1931, when it was created by Chester Gould.
It sold Tracy rights to Beatty when he made the movie, but retained future rights if the actor did not make another movie.
Recently Tribune wrote Beatty saying it wants the rights to Tracy back, reports CBS station KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
Beatty filed a lawsuit late Thursday claiming he should retain the rights because on Nov. 8 he started principal photography on a Dick Tracy TV
special.
Beatty has sued Tribune over the gumshoe once before. In 2005, he filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming he retained the Tracy film rights as a result of an initial deal he made with Tribune in 1985.
The 2005 case ended without a ruling.
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