Petty Revenge: Warren Beatty and Dick Tracy | The Internet Says it's True
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In 2009 and again in 2023, Warren Beatty shows up on TV in the middle of the night on an obscure interview-style show. He's dressed as his 1990 Dick Tracy character and the appearances are just BIZARRE. That's because they have one sole purpose: to keep the Dick Tracy rights in Beatty's name. In this episode, we talk about the Dick Tracy movie and this crazy ploy to keep the rights out of pure spite.

I guess there was a huge legal fight that he eventually won through argument and opponent apathy, so as long as he doesn’t let the character sit completely idle, he keeps the rights despite no longer giving a fuck either. It’s utterly petty, and if I cared more about Dick Tracy I’d probably find it infuriating rather than hilarious.

2009

2023

  • wjrii@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    40·
    12 hours ago

    Partly true, but as we’ve seen from the Steamboat Willie thing, the specific aesthetics of the Beatty movie, and even elements like the two-way wrist radio (introduced 1946) or any villains who came along later than 1932 will still be protected for a while.

    • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      2 hours ago

      Yeah and it ran until the 70s, so there will be a lot of legal land mines with using that character for quite awhile.