Nothing like recycling a headline to make me giggle like a 14-year old! THR is reporting that Colossal, which is being shopped to buyers in Cannes, is the source of a monster legal battle.
The rights holders of the Godzilla franchise, Japanese company Toho, have sued Voltage Pictures over the film Colossal, which stars Anne Hathaway as a woman who realizes her mind is strangely connected to a giant lizard destroying Tokyo. It’s described as “Godzilla meets Being John Malkovich.”
In fact, it IS Godzilla, says Toho.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in California federal court, the company claims the filmmakers “are brazenly producing, advertising, and selling an unauthorized Godzilla film of their own.”
The rights holders point out an August 2014 interview with writer-director Nacho Vigalondo in which he says of his script, “It’s going to be the cheapest Godzilla movie ever, I promise. It’s going to be a serious Godzilla movie, but I’ve got an idea that’s going to make it so cheap that you will feel betrayed.” Vigalondo is a co-defendant.
The lawsuit focuses on the filmmakers’ efforts to publicize Colossal, which Toho claims have included infringing content. The Godzilla rights holders claim the filmmakers sent an email blast to potential investors, sales agents, and distributors on May 9th pitching Colossal with a publicity still from the recent Godzilla reboot (the complaint includes the pictures you see below) plus a document of “Director’s Notes” with numerous images from official Toho works.