‘Spider-Man’ Producers to Settle Taymor Suit, Filing Says
The producers of the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” and the show’s fired director, Julie Taymor, agreed to settle a lawsuit over royalties and creative control, according to a court filing.
Terms of the agreement in principle weren’t disclosed in the order filed today in Manhattan federal court.
Taymor, 59, was removed from the $75 million spectacle in March 2011, after critics lambasted it during an extended 182- performance preview period. She sued the producers in November, saying they violated her intellectual-property rights by making changes without her permission and didn’t pay royalties due her as a co-book writer.
Dale Cendali, a lawyer for the lead producers, Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris, declined to comment on the filing. Taymor’s spokesman, Chris Kanarick, also declined to comment or provide details of the proposed settlement.
In her complaint, Taymor said that as the musical’s co- author she was owed guaranteed minimum royalties of $2,917.50 a week.
The producers agreed in February to pay her director’s royalties as part of a settlement with the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest had scheduled a trial for January 2013. At a June hearing, lawyers debated how much of Taymor’s 2004 2 1/2-page treatment for the show was original and how much was derived from the “Spider-Man” comics introduced in 1962. Comic book excerpts, scripts and financial papers have been filed in court.
The case is Taymor v. 8 Legged Productions LLC, 11-cv- 08002, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporters on this story: Christie Smythe in Manhattan federal court at csmythe1@bloomberg.net, Philip Boroff in New York at =2602 or pboroff@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
Julie Taymor
Robin Marchant/Getty Images via Bloomberg
Julie Taymor was dismissed as director of the Broadway show "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" in early 2011. She has agreed to settle a lawsuit over royalties and creative control with the producers of the show.
Julie Taymor was dismissed as director of the Broadway show "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" in early 2011. She has agreed to settle a lawsuit over royalties and creative control with the producers of the show. Photographer: Robin Marchant/Getty Images via Bloomberg
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