Frank Darabont (The Mist, Shawshank Redemption) has been battling AMC in court for nearly a decade trying to get money owed from AMC Network as he was due to earn profits from the show The Walking Dead series, a billion-dollar franchise. Darabont was the writer/director that helped develop and launch the zombie drama series back in 2010 and essentially made AMC their name alongside Vince Gilligan’s superb Breaking Bad.
Yesterday, it was announced (via Variety) that AMC had settled with Darabont and CAA for $200 million.
The deal calls for AMC Networks to pay Darabont and CAA a total of $200 million. They will continue to receive a share of future profits from streaming deals tied to “The Walking Dead” and spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead.” But for all other “Walking Dead”-related content, the settlement buys out the plaintiffs’ rights.
Interestingly enough, Frank Darabont isn’t the only one suing to get their Walking Dead money from AMC as Gale Anne Herd, Glen Mazzara, Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, and Charles Eglee are also fighting them in court and launched their own suits back in 2017.
After Darabont and CAA filed the first salvo, “Walking Dead” executive producers Gale Anne Hurd, comic book creator Robert Kirkman, showrunner Glen Mazzara and exec producers David Alpert and Charles Eglee filed a similar suit in 2017. That suit is still pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, with a trial expected to begin in November.
Everyone involved is rightfully owed money and AMC for whatever decided to stiff the majority of people involved with the series. Hopefully, they don’t have to wait a decade to see results. It’s amazing how much money AMC must have wasted on legal fees to only end up paying $200 million in the end, it’s almost like they should have honored the contracts to begin with. I guess greed is a huge motivator.
SOURCE: VARIETY
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