Bob Farnsworth insists the producers have obtained rights to make 'It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story' despite Paramount's claim to the contrary.
- Nov 21, 2013
AceShowbiz - A planned sequel to 1946's "It's a Wonderful Life" is facing a roadblock. Paramount, who owns the copyrights to the story after acquiring Republic Pictures as part of its acquisition of Spelling Entertainment in the late 1990s, claims people involved in the project haven't obtained the sequel rights to the movie.
"No project relating to 'It's a Wonderful Life' can proceed without a license from Paramount," a spokesperson for the studio giant says in a statement. "To date, these individuals have not obtained any of the necessary rights, and we would take all appropriate steps to protect those rights."
However, producer Bob Farnsworth claims otherwise. He insists to Variety that the producers have a "clear" claim to the sequel rights and are adamant they will be able to amicably resolve any dispute that may arise.
"We have spent a lot of time, money and research that leads us to believe that we are clear on any infractions of the copyright," he says. "If anyone feels that have a legal claim, we will be happy to talk with them. I believe that whatever resolution needs to be made will be made amicably, in the positive spirit of the project."
In addition to the copyrights issue, the sequel to Frank Capra-directed film is also slammed by the director's family. His son Tom Capra says as quoted by The Associated Press, "If he was still alive, he would have called it ludicrous. Then, I think we would have called his lawyer. Why would you even attempt to make a sequel to such a classic film?"
The second movie, "It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story", is planned for Christmas 2015, with a script already written by Farnsworth and Martha Bolton. Karolyn Grimes, who portrayed George Bailey's daughter Zuzu in the original film, is expected return as an angel. She will show Bailey's unlikable grandson also named George Bailey how much better off the world would have been had he never been born.
