New Regency Sues Michael Mann to Reassert Ownership of 'Heat'

Ahead of production of the "Heat" sequel, New Regency sued filmmaker Michael Mann in a lawsuit filed Friday to stop him from reclaiming the copyright to his "Heat" screenplay. In a complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles, New Regency is asking a judge to declare that three termination notices Mann served the company with "are null and void, that the Heat Screenplay is not eligible for copyright termination under 17 U.S.C. § 203, and that Regency retains all rights to the Screenplay." New Regency also argued that Mann wrote the 1995 crime epic as a "work made for hire" . . .