Spider-Man’ Judge Told of Arachne, Notes Superhero Lore
“The judge will be swinging in from
the backroom,” a courtroom deputy joked in U.S. District Court
in Manhattan.
The remark came before a two-hour hearing today in a case
pitting producers of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” against
the Broadway musical’s former director, Julie Taymor, who was
fired in March 2011 after critics lambasted the show.
Judge Katherine Forrest entered on foot from her chambers,
and nine lawyers eventually appeared before her. Most of the
arguments were devoted to the producers’ motion to dismiss part
of Taymor’s November 2011 suit, in which she alleges that the
producers unlawfully used her 2004 treatment as a basis for the
$75 million musical.
Forrest, who said she has a 10-year-old son and knows “a
lot about superheroes,” said she would rule on the motion soon,
without being specific.
The two-and-a-half-page treatment, which Taymor registered
in 2005 with the U.S. Copyright Office, was based on “Spider-
Man” comics introduced in 1962 and the first film, released in
2002, argued Dale Cendali, a lawyer for the producers.
“The whole darn thing came from the comics,” she said,
adding that act one in the show is a retelling of the movie.
“What they’re trying to do is put a lien on the ‘Spider-
Man’ property, which is unprecedented,” Cendali said. “They
can’t monopolize ‘Spider-Man.’ They don’t own ‘Spider-Man.’”
Arachne Issue
Charles Spada, a lawyer for Taymor, pointed to the
character of the mythic spider-woman Arachne as an example of
Taymor departing from the classic “Spider-Man” story. He
disputed the producers’ claim that Arachne was based on a
character named Shakira, first introduced in the comics.
“Arachne is a unique character,” he said.
The producers seek to dismiss Taymor’s claim that they
copied and performed portions of her treatment without
permission and without paying her. Her claim that they used part
of her original book, which she wrote with Glen Berger, without
her permission would go to trial.
Should the judge dismiss the claim regarding the treatment,
“it would just be a contractual case,” Cendali said.
Spada countered: “This is an important brick but there are
many other bricks in this foundation.”
Director Fees
Neither Taymor nor the lead producers — Michael Cohl and
Jeremiah Harris — attended the hearing. Although producers
haven’t paid her author royalties, they previously reached a
settlement over director fees.
“Spider-Man” sold $1.5 million of tickets in the week
ending on Sunday. It was the fifth-bestselling show on Broadway,
after “Wicked,” “The Lion King,” “Evita” and “The Book of
Mormon.”
The case is Taymor v. 8 Legged Productions LLC, 1:11-cv-
08002-RJH, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
(Manhattan).
Muse highlights include Lewis Lapham on books and Greg
Evans on movies.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Philip Boroff in New York at
pboroff@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Manuela Hoelterhoff at
mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net
Spider Man
Jacob Cohl/OM Co. via Bloomberg
Reeve Carney in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” in New York. Julie Taymor was the original creator of the play.
Reeve Carney in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” in New York. Julie Taymor was the original creator of the play. Photographer: Jacob Cohl/OM Co. via Bloomberg
Julie Taymor
Robin Marchant/Getty Images
Julie Taymor was dismissed as director of the Broadway show “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” in early 2011.
Julie Taymor was dismissed as director of the Broadway show “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” in early 2011. Photographer: Robin Marchant/Getty Images
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