Amityville: The Awakening

(2017)   Tags: Dimension

Lesia Anson v. Harvey Weinstein

This case arises out of Defendants’ alleged unlawful production and recent release of a theatrical sequel motion picture entitled Amityville: The Awakening (formerly known as The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes) – a work clearly derived from the Novel, and promoted by Defendants as a sequel to the successful 1979 and 2005 films, entitled The Amityville Horror, based on the Novel.

In fact, the WEINSTEINS previously co-financed and codistributed The Amityville Horror (2005), and, as such, were intimately familiar with the Novel and the film franchise it launched. Yet so brazen and unbridled were the WEINSTEINS’ desire to hijack the Novel and franchise that they never even attempted to license from Plaintiff the requisite underlying rights, a license they could well have afforded. To make matters worse, the Amityville Horror sequel film they illegally produced was of such poor quality, and consequently performed so miserably at the box office, that it substantially damaged the value of Plaintiff’s intellectual property. Evidently, HARVEY and BOB WEINSTEIN believe they are perched above the law, and can willfully misappropriate another’s property with impunity.

Judgment: For the foregoing reasons, the Court would DENY the Miramax MTD with respect to the first claim for relief, the second claim for relief, the third claim for relief, and the sixth claim for relief. As to the Weinstein MTD, the Court would DENY that motion with respect to the first claim for relief and sixth claim for relief. It would GRANT the Weinstein MTD without prejudice as to the fourth and fifth claims for relief. It would allow leave to amend those claims. The Court would GRANT the E1 MTD without prejudice as to the sixth claim for relief, but it would allow leave to amend that claim.