H2O #134: In Which We Discuss Buckaroo Banzai and the Question of Ownership

By now, you’ve heard that filmmaker Kevin Smith is in the process of developing a new Buckaroo Banzai television series with MGM. And you’ve probably also heard that it’s going to live on Amazon Prime.

But hold on. Back that train up. Because in a recent turn of events, we’re now finding out that MGM may not own the rights they think they own. In fact, looking back at the original five-and-some-change-page contract, it may actually turn out that nobody has owned the rights they thought they did. The Buckaroo Banzai franchise looks like it may have always been owned by the original creators, Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter. Because Richter says that the way the contract is worded, MGM never bought the rights to the concept itself, just commissioned Rauch to write a script based on the concept.

‘Tis a tangled web that is sure to get even messier before the day is through. You can read more about it on the Banzai Institute’s Facebook page.

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