The rights ownership of The Final Countdown? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_HR]

Forgive me if I missed this info, but does PFE own this film's rights forever? If not, to whom might they revert at some point in the future? I'm hoping someone else will inherit the rights one day so that a proper job could be done on releasing this title.

 

[Douglas R]

The Final Countdown was originally released by United Artists so I don't understand why MGM don't now have the rights as they do with other UA material. Here in the UK it's been issued in a poor quality non-anamorphic DVD in 2 channel surround (which sounds awful) by Consolidated Trading Co Ltd whoever they are, who put out mainly TV films and B films under the Hollywood Video label. The Final Countdown is about the only well known title they have. A pity it hasn't been issued by MGM who would certainly have had better elements to work from.

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

I don't quite have the answer to all of this, but apparently from the start, THE FINAL COUNTDOWN was one of those titles UA only received theatrical and television rights to, so it must have been a negative pickup from an indepedent producer to begin with. I suspect that it was the now-defunct Producer Sales Organization that held the video rights, as the tape was released initially by Vestron, who also handled PSO's CLASS OF 1984. (PSO films' rights seem to be in limbo themselves--Moroder's METROPOLIS, Ashby's EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE, and others are long OP on tape and don't seem to be coming anytime soon) Pacific International could indeed be the legal inheritor of this film, knowing how crazy things have gotten with older films. It would just be weird having this film under the same roof with the WILDERNESS FAMILY series. I wish PFE would hurry up and issue the underrated Trevor Howard film WINDWALKER as well.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Thanks for the info Mr Heuck. I knew someone had to possess some good info.