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starvinbohemianFrom Ritchie's Holmes Sequel Under Threat From Writer's Estate:
"The executors of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's literary estate have threatened to withdraw Guy Ritchie's rights to the Sherlock Holmes story if the director hints at a homosexual relationship between the lead characters in his sequel...
... Downey, Jr.'s comments have infuriated Andrea Plunket, who controls the remaining U.S. copyrights to the Holmes story, and she's threatened to withdraw permission for a follow-up if Ritchie suggests the detective is more than just friends with his sidekick.
She says, 'I hope this is just an example of Mr Downey's black sense of humour. It would be drastic, but I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future. I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books.'"
Not "drastic," m'dear, so much as immature, homophobic, foolish, and smacking of undeserved entitlement and control issues. *Sigh* Oh, Andrea. You are my least favorite person right now. Way to harsh on my squee, bitch.
I feel compelled to quote [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] from this thread: "But by focusing on possible homosexual subtext like this, Ms. Plunket is ignoring a far more important issue! There was absolutely no racist, pro-Imperialist, or anti-Mormon rhetoric in the movie at all! Clearly it was an unfaithful adaption, made with no respect to the author's original intentions, and should be pulled from the theaters immediately."
Oh, and as for the supposedly heterosexual "spirit of the books"? HA! I'm almost finished with A Study in Scarlet, and I think Andrea and I are reading a completely different series. And from what I've read about The Sign of Four... yeah, a completely different series. Can't wait to read that one, by the way.
"The executors of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's literary estate have threatened to withdraw Guy Ritchie's rights to the Sherlock Holmes story if the director hints at a homosexual relationship between the lead characters in his sequel...
... Downey, Jr.'s comments have infuriated Andrea Plunket, who controls the remaining U.S. copyrights to the Holmes story, and she's threatened to withdraw permission for a follow-up if Ritchie suggests the detective is more than just friends with his sidekick.
She says, 'I hope this is just an example of Mr Downey's black sense of humour. It would be drastic, but I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future. I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books.'"
Not "drastic," m'dear, so much as immature, homophobic, foolish, and smacking of undeserved entitlement and control issues. *Sigh* Oh, Andrea. You are my least favorite person right now. Way to harsh on my squee, bitch.
I feel compelled to quote [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] from this thread: "But by focusing on possible homosexual subtext like this, Ms. Plunket is ignoring a far more important issue! There was absolutely no racist, pro-Imperialist, or anti-Mormon rhetoric in the movie at all! Clearly it was an unfaithful adaption, made with no respect to the author's original intentions, and should be pulled from the theaters immediately."
Oh, and as for the supposedly heterosexual "spirit of the books"? HA! I'm almost finished with A Study in Scarlet, and I think Andrea and I are reading a completely different series. And from what I've read about The Sign of Four... yeah, a completely different series. Can't wait to read that one, by the way.
FRitchie's Holmes Sequel would do anything it want, because this woman has not legal right
Date: 2010-02-25 05:35 pm (UTC)http://www.imdb.com/news/ni1372749/
Andrea Plunket? THE Andrea Plunket? 4-times married Ex-Lover of Claus von Buelow? Hostess of the Catskills B&B 'the Guest House'? When did she become an expert on Doyle's spirit? And didn't she actually lose several cases over her claim to 'own' the copyrights on ACD's work in the US? All copyrights on ACD works in the UK ceased in 2000. Her permission may not be needed to get Sherlock 2 going.
She is definitely NOT the "copyright holder." From Sherlockian.net:
===
A recently created web site for "the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate" represents Andrea Plunket, the former wife of Sheldon Reynolds, producer of the 1954 television series starring Ronald Howard as Holmes. Reynolds controlled the copyrights in the 1950s.
Plunket is proprietor of a guest house in Livingston Manor, New York. Her claims to rights in the Sherlock Holmes stories have been repeatedly rejected in U.S. federal court decisions (including Plunket v. Doyle, No. 99-11006, Southern District of New York, February 22, 2001; Pannonia Farms Inc. v. ReMax International and Jon Lellenberg, No. 01-1697, District of Columbia, March 21, 2005).
She has also filed a claim to the name "Sherlock Holmes" as a United States trademark, and it too has been turned down
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