Another Sherlock movie withour Watson? No thanks. 

Oh… dear…  Oh dear…      

On the eve of Doyle's 156th birthday, no less (happy belated cheers!), his estate filed another copyright suit again.  (Pardon memory, wasn't the last time we were talking on here about being surprised/disappointed in them for choice of legal actions, involved the well-known Leslie Klinger's compilation of stories by modern-day authors, simply to get licensing fees? or I think there was another one, too)  And the results effectively determined that Sherlock Holmes was pretty much public domain at that point, except for the later 10 works still under copyright (which dealt mostly with an older/retired Holmes).  You can probably see where this is going, then, related to a certain movie in production. 


Articles that explain it all better:
http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/sherlock-holmes-lawsuit-creator-estate-sues-miramax-mr-holmes-1201503941/
http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2015/05/conan-doyle-estate-sues-mr-holmes.html#.VWXlget97zK
http://deadline.com/2015/05/mr-holmes-lawsuit-arthur-conan-doyle-estate-sues-bill-condon-1201431854/


Basically:
“This action for copyright infringement arises from unauthorized copying by Mitch Cullin—in his novel A Slight Trick of the Mind and in the motion picture Mr. Holmes based on the novel—of original Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Conan Doyle),” says the jury trial seeking May 21 filing in District court in New Mexico (read it here). “The remaining defendants have participated in copying these protected stories in the infringing movie, have published and distributed the infringing novel and motion picture, and have titled the movie so as to confuse consumers and unfairly trade on CDEL’s goodwill.”

So just because the film is based on an older Holmes (and they claim Cullin's original book is also at fault, and even 'lifted' some material from the stories??), they don't want the movie being made.  Err, I'm sorry, but Cullin's book was written back in 2005.  How come they didn't fuss about it then?  Or any time earlier than now, when they first heard of the movie being made?

I think their point is not to stop the release, but rather to get money from something that is likely gonna be successful.

Last edited by NatureNoHumansNo (May 28, 2015 7:54 am)

The Conan Doyle estate are an embarrassment to Sherlock Holmes fans.

They do it at every opportunity. Just money grabbers.

Saw 'Mr Holmes' over the weekend.  Really enjoyed it.

I can't wait! Ian McKellan is a treasure-- and I think he can bring a certian measure of humor, dignity to the character of Sherlock Holmes-- and maybe restore affection for him. From what I've seen in previews-- the movie looks lovely-- and it seems to be a bit of a character piece. So may other adaptations in the last 20 years have had fun, compelling takes on Sherlock-- but they spoofed him, and didn't really treat him like a 'real person'. 

I think Ian McKellan can bring something new to the character that we've never really seen before. 

And, I don't have a problem that it's not "all about Watson's interpretation of Sherlock Holmes's character" , for once. We've had at least 50 years of it in film. A new take could be really cool. 

Last edited by RavenMorganLeigh (July 23, 2015 2:14 am)

So, it seems that Sir Ian McKellen can play more than Middle-earth wizards. =)
 

kgreen20 wrote:

So, it seems that Sir Ian McKellen can play more than Middle-earth wizards. =)
 

Well, he had a long and distinguished career before the "Middle-earth wizards. Suppose he was not knighted for playing Gandalf. 

I just watched the film on DVD and liked it very much. It was suffused with a feeling of sadness and wistfulness. Beautiful images of the landscape, the eerie Hiroshima scene, the moving interaction between Roger and Holmes will stay in the mind. And Ian McKellen was at his usual best. A very different take on Sherlock Holmes and really worth watching. 


 

"Not knighted for playing Gandalf", Susi???? 

I loved the movie, too. Very atmospheric, often surprising, beautiful.
And, bonus:

Rather happy ending 

Last edited by Harriet (December 13, 2015 7:16 pm)