George R. R. Martin sues Blackstone over Werewolf novella film rights

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin has often been in controversies due to his ‘out of the world’ writing style. This time he is in the news again for something else. It is for a lawsuit he filed for the film rights of a werewolf novella.

The complaint was filed at the Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday. According to the complaint, Mike the Pike productions were granted an option to the rights of the film in 2009. The company later assigned the option to Blackstone Manor, LLC., who are the defendant in this case. Blackstone exercised the option on September 2, 2014, which gave them 5 years to start principal photography before the rights went back to Martin.

The complaint states that Blackstone “hastily assembled” a barebones cast and crew. Just a day before the 2019 deadline to shoot “a handful of scenes” to make it appear they were still working on the project, to retain the rights for another 5 years. Martin describes the “token” production was “insufficient”. He compared the move to a “contractor hurriedly building a gazebo in lieu of the agreed-upon skyscraper when faced with a deadline”, as reported by the Los Angeles times.

After the success of Game of Thrones, the writer is sure to have high hopes with any production house that wants to adapt his novel for the screen. The novel was published in 1988 as a part of “Night Vision 5”. It was a horror anthology that also included works of Stephen King and Dan Simmons. The story revolves around a private investigator, Randi Wade, who is looking into a series of brutal killings in her small town. This leads her to the world of werewolves and other demons.

The story won a World Fantasy Award in 1989. What is your perspective about the case? Let us know in the comments below.