An E-mail Appeal to Mr. Wade Williams (1 Viewer)

[Jan Willem Bosman Jansen]

Amsterdam Court Ruled: Copyright ownership of Invaders from Mars by Ignite b.v. – The Netherlands.

Dear Film Fans; Recently I received the message Mr. Williams put on your platform in which he claims to be the owner of the film INVADERS FROM MARS. My company Ignite b.v. is the World Wide owner of this picture and started a Court action for Copyright Infringement against the distributors in the United States. The resulting judgement clearly states that Ignite b.v. is the copyright owner of this film and it cannot be distributed without its consent. We are truly looking forward releasing a new BluRay version of this esteemed motion picture.

Ignite b.v. acquired all 64 motion pictures from the late Richard Rosenfeld in 1995/1996 and we have successfully exploited these pictures around the world and in the United States. The collection consists of the John Garfield Enterprise Studio pictures (30 titles) such as Body and Soul, Caught etc. –these are owned by Paramount for domestic rights- it consists of the Philip Yordan/Bernard Gordon catalogue with such titles as The Big Combo, Men in War and a collection of British produced horror sci-fi titles, such as Penny Gold, Psychomania.

Unfortunately we have not been able to release Invaders from Mars until now since all elements that were stored in the name of Richard Rosenfeld were illegally taken from UCLA in the late 80’s, this included the YCM and negatives and never returned. Unfortunately this was prior to my acquisition.
We were very lucky to have been able to buy the original cut negative on Invaders From Mars a number of years back, hence the lawsuit we brought against the US distribution of this picture. However it is very frustrating that the cinecolor system of a cut negative does not include the special effects/titles. I am not really a film expert please let one of the specialists explain that, why these elements are kept separate. We have done a complete evaluation of the 35mm elements which was done by Film Technology in Hollywood and they judged the elements as 3.5 on a scale of 4, in excellent undamaged condition.
I need all your help now to get this done!! We also control the Television Rights in the US and of course TCM would be very interested in playing this title for the first time in about half a century.

I am not a film historian but we do take care of our films, as a latest example of our work please go to the Kino Lorber site who is releasing our two Randolph Scott Westerns: Cariboo Trail and Canadian Pacific on BluRay. This has been a complete digital recombination of the separation elements, and mind you these were nitrate!! Everything has been scanned on a Imagica scanner, the best there is. I don’t think I need to tell you how much money was involved but for the first time in 40 years you can actually see these film again in their Original glory. And in about a month a new version of our title Psychomania will be released, also a recombination of the YCM separation elements with great help of the BFI.
Just to let you know we do care and we are dying to get this film out and in to some special Festivals around the world to show how we can still enjoy and maybe learn from these pictures especially considering today’s political field.

It is no secret anymore, we need to work on this. All relevant distributors are aware of the actual legal situation regarding this film.
Respectfully Jan Willem Bosman Jansen

 

[RMajidi]

Wow, this thread's become almost as entertaining as the films themselves. Can hardly wait for the next twist ...and a very warm HTF welcome to you, Jan.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Wade, I saw the materials at Movielab in Hollywood in 1985. You've had two dozen boxes of HANNAH LEE 35mm elements from the Jack Broder Estate for decades now - and they've never once been opened or inspected.

It's time to dig into those materials, evaluate their condition and save this important 3-D film!

I'll put this offer on the table: if we are given full access to the HANNAH LEE 35mm elements, we would do a complete stereoscopic restoration and release it on 3-D Blu-ray and DCP for theatrical. With our unique left/right panel-matching and image alignment tools, it would look better now than it did in 1953.

If you have our acclaimed 3-D RARITIES set, you can watch the 3-D trailer. That restoration was done from shrunken, faded Pathe Color negatives. You've seen what we achieved .

Our motivation is not profit but preservation. The work can take anywhere from three to five months. Once we recoup our expenses, we will split any profit with you 50/50. That's only fair considering the massive amount of work we will be doing in order to save this film. The only thing you have to do is provide access to your materials.

Do you truly want to restore it or let it languish in storage for several more decades?

 

[Interdimensional]

Wade, I would suggest that it's better to take the opportunity while there's an audience out there eager to see this film, and a healthy market for 3D-Blu-ray, and vintage 3-D. Those of us that have been collecting these releases, we're not interested in shoddy bootlegs. A bootleg copy is no competition for a legitimate, high-quality release.

Perhaps a decade or more down the line the statutes will have miraculously changed and somehow rights will have been restored. I don't think it's all that likely, but even if that were to come to pass, the commercial value will have greatly diminished in the time that has elapsed. You might find yourself with 100% of the rights to something that's no longer economically viable, that will take far longer to recoup expenses, and with less time to enjoy any profits it might have produced. Or you might find yourself with boxes of deteriorating film and no rights whatsoever other than basic physical ownership.

I think we'd all be very grateful if you decide to do the right thing.

 

[TheSteig]

You know, I dont care about lawsuits who owns what, the bottom line for me is these gems need to be released in HD, the market for these titles may not be mainstream but there is a market for them.
I love the original Invaders from Mars and I wish differences could be settled by simply having two distributors working together to give the fans what they want.
I think Kino Lorber would have been a great label to have done business with because they release many similar titles. There must be or there needs to be some meet me halfway / happy medium that can made and just make the deal. Kino, Criterion and other niche labels would give these films the royal treatment. The Crawling Eye is my number one buckletlist title, and I love so many of those films, that it's a shame that they havent been released in HD

 

[David Sal]

Maybe Kickstarter would be an option for restoring Hanna Lee.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Interdimensional, you are absolutely correct. The audience for these films is not growing and is getting older every year.

The time to act is now!

 

[Todd J Moore]

Okay, I'm not the only one who read "I won't restore this because I don't think I'll make money off it".

First off, which are Mr. Williams? A curator of films you supposedly love or someone just looking to make a buck? Do you really care about the movies you allegedly own rights to or do you just care about the amount of money you can make off them?

Sure, movies are a business, I get that. I make movies myself. But you can't have it both ways and claim to be someone interested in taking care of your library and then in the next breath saying you don't want to spend money taking care of said library.

Since Hannah Lee is PD, by your own admission, then yes, give it to the Archive and let them restore it. If that's too bitter a pill and you don't want to spend any money on it, do a Kickstarter. There's plenty of ways to make certain the films get the restoration and preservation they need. That's IF you care as much as you claim you do.

While I'm on a rant, the Public Domain is NOT a "LICENSE TO STEAL". The Public Domain does as much or more to preserve our heritage as Copyright does. And I find it hysterically funny that the Public Domain only became a big deal in the last 100 years with the advent of movies. Before that, books, plays, and music went PD without anyone saying so much as boo about it. Thanks to the PD, we still have the works of Shakespeare, Mozart, and Mark Twain, among others. Thanks to the Public Domain, we still have ready access to those works and the various derivatives of said works, such as Kiss Me Kate.

On the other hand, Copyright holders could care less about culture and more about money, as has even been proven in this very thread. The thinking is, "Can we make money off it? No? Then let it rot into the dustbin of history". I'm sure none of us have ever heard of such a case **COUGH** THE ALAMO **COUGH** HANNAH LEE **COUGH** CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON **COUGH** DETOUR**COUGH need I go on?

You bring up the Irving Berlin estate and talk about copyrighted properties left to the children of the creators. But are you the child of anyone ever involved in any of the films you claim Copyright on? Does Claudia Barrett or Gregory Moffett--both of whom are still alive--get royalties from you on any Robot Monster related material you license out?

I wanted to stay out of this but I threw up in my mouth reading your sanctimonious posts. Especially when the PD status of a film hasn't prevented it's restoration in the past. Besides The Kennel Murder Case, MPI restored the PD Sherlock Holmes movies, Fox restored the PD Mr. Moto movie, and Warners restored a decent number of PD Looney Tunes cartoons. Manos, The Hands of Fate was restored due to Kickstarter. Oh, and yeah. The 3D Film Archive restored a PD Casper Cartoon.

Prove us wrong, here. Prove you care about these movies as much as you say and do something whether it's giving the elements to the Archive or doing a Kickstarter or agreeing to a negotiation with Kino. It's not JUST about money. It's about preserving our cultural heritage.

 

[RolandL]

Interdimensional, you are absolutely correct. The audience for these films is not growing and is getting older every year.

The time to act is now!

Only Sony and LG sell 3D TV sets now. If they stop in a few years the market for 3D content will decline even further. As Bob said, this is the time to release 3D titles on Blu-ray.

 

[BleedOrange11]

I'd love to see Hannah Lee and any other Golden Age 3D films that you have, Mr. Williams, if they're ever restored and made available to purchase in 3D. The interaxials used in the 1950s makes 3D depth look so much better than it does in 95% of current 3D movies.

 

[haineshisway]

No one finds the post at the top of this page interesting - the one from Mr. Jansen. I do. And I wonder "who" removed the materials stored at UCLA illegally. Because, I have to tell you straight, there has NEVER been a home video release of Invaders from Mars that hasn't looked like crap. So what elements actually exist, I wonder?

 

[StephenDH]

... lest anyone mistake Invaders from Mars for a 3-D film. I was always somewhat disappointed that that misreported 'fact' had no basis in reality.

One could be forgiven for thinking it was, given WCM's design and art direction.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

No one finds the post at the top of this page interesting - the one from Mr. Jansen. I do. And I wonder "who" removed the materials stored at UCLA illegally. Because, I have to tell you straight, there has NEVER been a home video release of Invaders from Mars that hasn't looked like crap. So what elements actually exist, I wonder?

Oh, it was most interesting.

 

[Johnny Angell]

So HANNAH LEE will never be restored in 3-D because it's public domain and you'll lose money when people copy your restoration?

Fine, then release the elements to someone not motivated by profit but by preservation...

First of I'll I say I don't understand the legalities of copyright and public domain so forgive my ignorance when I ask this question: If a person own a physical copy of a PD film and they invest money and restore it, can't he copyright that restored version? Value has been added to the film. Yes the he would not have rights to every copy of the film, but I thought he would have rights to the restored version.

I appreciate all the interest. I am a film fan first and grew up on these wonderful films. All the masters and negatives are stored in
the vaults safely where the major studios store their negatives in the salt mines at 30 degrees temperature.. I know the value of
these films and will be an excellent custodian until they are passed on into the future.
wade williams

If the answer to my above question is no, than I do have some sympathy for Wade. However, since he is a film fan first, he could be motivated to restore the film anyway. Failing that, as Bob suggested, donate the elements to someone who will restore the film.

To do less is the equivalent of "If you won't play my way, I'm taking my ball and going home." The ball doesn't do anyone any good sitting in your closet.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The three-color Cinecolor separation masters exist as does the 35mm original Eastman color camera negative. Here's a frame from the academy leader.



All home video releases have been taken from a 35mm Supercinecolor print. Having done the same many years ago for my JACK AND THE BEANSTALK restoration, I can tell you that a positive dual-emulsion Cinecolor release print is far from optimum. It may not be faded, but the grain is strong and the sharpness is severely compromised from the double emulsion.

Here are frames from a positive 35mm release print. Pretty, but not ideal for mastering or preservation.

Many years ago, Bob Gitt at the UCLA Archive told me that he was very anxious to restore IFM from the red/blue/yellow seps that were on deposit. He had gotten approval and was ready to go when they were pulled.

Now they are needed to fully restore the film as the original Eastman color camera negative is missing the titles and some opticals.

Let's hope that the appropriate parties step up to the plate and make the separations available for a complete restoration of this film.

By the way, the OCN is in excellent condition with 90% of its color. What little color information is missing can easily be restored digitally.

 

[Mossman-Williams]

I have been distributing motion pictures since 1976 and have been very much "in the public" since then. I have been represented by
Corinth Films, Reel Movies, Mass Production and Blue Dolphin in the UK. and several others. My films were sold " worldwide" legally and many "bottom-feeders" have apparently stolen and sold them. I have had licenses with TNT- USA Cable-smaller syndicated stations and public broadcast stations. I have licensed " clip rights" to many producers and most recently a clip from KID MONK BARONI for the Leonard Nemoy documentary.

Other licenses were to Disney : "Sci-Fi Drive-In" in Florida, Paramount, the film ED WOOD and was the associate producer on the
remake of INVADERS FROM MARS. Plus I have made three films including the remake of DETOUR. This does not include the
VHS/DVD Licenses to Image, Reel Movies, Nostalgia Merchants, Englewood Entertainment and Starlog video. This is only a few of
the licenses on my library. I am in plain sight, have been available for business and am still acquiring films rights such as TARGET EARTH
from the estate of Herman Cohen, : UNKNOWN ISLAND from Alex Cogan-Films Around the World and newer 80's titles like SUPERVAN-
STUDENT BODIES- CAMPUS CORPSE and EVERY GIRL SHOULD HAVE ONE. Not to mention JOSETTE OF NEW ORLEANS and
WAYWARD GIRL Both with famed dancer- LILI ST CYR.

Included are 10 films from the Harry Popkin Library- "Champagne for Caesar". And Then There Were None, the 22 films from the
Jack Broder Library including NAVY VS NIGHT MONSTERS and WOMEN OF PREHISTORIC PLANET. Seven Ed Wood Films
from many sources. All in copyright except VIOLENT YEARS and JAILBAIT. Other fun" regional" films like GALAXY INVADER
from the late Don Dohler. What I am saying is ALL of these films have been available for decades. Corinth
Films handled the library these last 20 years. Image's license expired on January 1, of this year with a 6 month sell-off time period.
My attorney is in he process of pulling them off of

I have put up with unfounded " criticism " on blogs from people who absolutely don't know what they are talking about . From adding
footage in ROCKETSHIP XM with a crew of Academy Award winners like Dennis Muren to cure the embarrassing V2- rocket footage Bob Lippert spliced into the original film.
Kurt Newman tried unsuccessfully to delete the footage, so the version I have is the " Director's Cut" and of course we still have the
original version with the V2 rocket footage. I did save this film from decomposition of the 35MM remaining elements by making a new
Fine Grain and negative from a decomposing neg. The same for the trailer. and the same for the 1945 film DETOUR.

INVADERS FROM MARS has many problems. When Richard Rosenfeld sold me the film, he was not honest. He had already licensed
rights which he had sold me. He sold Italy- the BBC in the UK- South America and Television broadcast to Ben Barry for the US. He also
sold the REMAKE RIGHTS which he did not own. My agent David Gersh was dealing with a remake with Tobe Hooper when Rosenfeld
announced in the trade papers he had sold the rights to the remake. Problem- he never had the remake right. I had the chain of title
back to Fox and the sell-back agreement to the producer- Edward L Alperson of the remake rights when he sold the library.

The film was shot on early eastman negative according to the

Thru the years I have been swindled by people in LA selling me film rights they did not own on several pictures like RED PLANET MARS
and several others. When I found out they did not have the chain of title I informed the copyright office and terminated my copyright
claims. I won a major lawsuit against QVC for pirating episodes of SPACE PATROL.

There have been many write up about me thru the years, have been a " talking head" for Kevin Burns on BIOGRAPHY in the Alice Faye
episode and on the Science Fiction episode with Robert Clarke. I have licensed films from many producers and booked many of my
films in the UK on the BBC and Chanel 4 , and licensed Germany, France, Italy ( Luigi Cozzi- StarCrash ) England and other places.

What I am getting across is the fact I have been in the public licensing films longer than most distributors like Kit Parker and VCI.

 

[bgart13]

Are you willing to allow access of IFM to Ignite in order for them to properly restore it, Mr. Williams?

 

[Mark Pytel]

Mr. Williams. First off, thanks for replying on here.
I just wanted to say that I am a big 3D film lover and have to say that Bob Furmanek at 3D Film Archive does awesome work. Really hoping you take him up on his offer for Hannah Lee. Being 31 years old, I never got the opportunity to see any of the classics 3d films in the theater. Since I love classic movies and love seeing them presented properly, I've scooped up and enjoyed all of the classic 3d blurays released thus far. What Bob does is truly amazing. His release of GOG looks fantastic. I can't wait to see what magic he does with September Storm. Please please consider his offer. Bob would do great work with your 3d films. Preserving them for future generations is a great thing. Plus, getting them remastered for 3D blu would allow for newer generations of people such as myself to appreciate the films and see them the way they were meant to be seen.
Once again, thank you for coming on here and reading and responding to our messages. Hopefully some sort of agreement and fair licensing deal can be made so that we can all enjoy these classic films and see them done properly.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I'm not sure what point you are making in this last post, Mr. Williams. After reading your 3 posts in this thread, the point I get is that you are a businessman first and a film fan a distant second. I'm 70, I'd like to see a good restoration of IFM before I kick the bucket. Sadly, after reading your posts, I'm not optimistic.

IFM and many others you hold are valued by people of my generation. We're decreasing in number. So is whatever monetary value these films currently have.

Once again, I say if a film has no value to you, why not donate it to someone who does see the value, perhaps of a different kind?

 

[Jack Theakston]

We were very lucky to have been able to buy the original cut negative on Invaders From Mars a number of years back, hence the lawsuit we brought against the US distribution of this picture. However it is very frustrating that the cinecolor system of a cut negative does not include the special effects/titles. I am not really a film expert please let one of the specialists explain that, why these elements are kept separate.

I suspect at some point, while Fox still had access to the negative, shots were pulled for stock footage purposes. The opening titles may have been A&B-rolled like the opticals in the rest of the picture for international markets. Cinecolor A&B-rolled their opticals to keep the image at maximum sharpness.