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Michael Crichton’s estate sues Warner Bros., Noah Wyle, others over ‘ER’ reboot

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Michael Crichton's estate sues Warner Bros., Noah Wyle, others over 'ER' reboot

As a movie critic with over three decades of experience, I find myself reminiscing about the golden age of television when “ER” ruled the airwaves. Now, I don’t claim to have known Michael Crichton personally, but I did have a brief fling with a girl who knew a guy who once shared an elevator ride with him in a building somewhere in LA. So, you could say we were practically family.

Michael Crichton’s estate has taken legal action against Warner Bros. Television, actor Noah Wyle, and producer John Wells, claiming they violated a contract regarding the revival of the hit TV show “ER.”

As stated in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, the Crichton estate has been attempting – without success – to negotiate with Warner Bros. for the opportunity to revive the acclaimed medical drama, which originally aired on NBC, for over a year now.

In the event no consensus was reached, the production company apparently decided to shift the series from Chicago to Pittsburgh, renamed it ‘The Pitt,’ and continued production without providing credit or payment to Crichton and his descendants, according to the lawsuit.

The action is described as a “disrespectful dismissal of Crichton’s establishment of ‘ER,'” a “violation of trust” stemming from a 30-year bond between the author and John Wells, the original series’ creator, and “an attempt to deny his heirs the benefits derived from one of his most significant works,” according to the allegation.

It’s been revealed that Wells will take on the role of executive producer for “The Pitt”, while Wyle will not only appear in the production, but also produce it in an executive capacity.

Representatives from Warner Bros. Television, both Wells and Wyle, could not be reached for an immediate response.

By the time he passed away in 2008, Michael Crichton had established himself as a highly successful author, having written 25 novels that sold over 250 million copies globally. Incidentally, 13 of these books were adapted into movies, including “Jurassic Park”. As per the lawsuit, the combined revenue from his novels, films, and TV series has surpassed $10 billion to date.

1974 saw him penning the script for the two-hour premiere of “ER”, which was influenced by his personal stint as a medical intern in a bustling city’s emergency department.

Approximately 15 years after it was initially written, Crichton and Spielberg transformed their script into a trailblazing television series that aired on NBC for an impressive 15 seasons from 1994 to 2009. The show garnered 124 Emmy nominations, of which it won 23. According to the lawsuit, the series generated a staggering amount of revenue for Warner Bros., estimated at billions of dollars.

Prior to signing with Warner Bros., Crichton made sure to secure several contractual commitments, one of which was a “frozen rights” clause that prevented the studio from creating sequels, remakes, spinoffs, or other works based on “ER” without his explicit approval, as stated in the lawsuit. Additionally, he ensured he would receive due credit, and his descendants would be compensated proportionately to the success of “ER” in any future productions.

Following Michael Crichton’s passing, according to the lawsuit, Warner Bros. allegedly took actions that breached his trust and gradually minimized, eventually eliminating him from his own work. This is evident in the HBO remake of “Westworld,” a series derived from the 1973 film penned and directed by Crichton. Instead of acknowledging Crichton as the creator, he was only given a ‘Based Upon’ credit, which was placed inconspicuously in the end credits.

2020 saw a lawsuit claim that Warner Bros., struggling with HBO Max, started working on an “ER” reboot without first gauging its worth by shopping the project or informing Sherri Crichton, the estate guardian controlling Michael Crichton’s “ER” assets for his children. This action reportedly violated a ‘frozen rights’ provision and was done without her knowledge.

As a devoted movie critic, I found myself in an unexpected predicament when I learned about the upcoming reboot of a beloved film franchise. The studio approached me, alongside Sherri Crichton and the estate, with an aggressive push for consent on the project. Regrettably, it seemed that their eagerness overshadowed any concern for how credit would be distributed to Crichton or financial rewards extended to his heirs. This revelation, as outlined in a complaint, left me feeling uneasy about the production’s intentions.

Following some difficult negotiations, the estate agreed to endorse the project under the condition that Crichton receives a “created by” credit and a $5 million contingency fee in case of non-performance.

On the contrary, the lawsuit claims that after agreeing to certain terms, the studio and Wells subsequently withdrew these conditions and insisted that the estate relinquish their guarantee. They then moved forward with the remake, starting without the estate’s approval and initially in secrecy.

According to a representative from Sherri Crichton, the actions taken by Warner Bros. were described as a “disappointing breach of trust.”

16 years following his demise, Warner Bros. plans to revive the television series ‘ER’, aiming to build upon the over $3 billion profit it has previously amassed from this original concept, without acknowledging Crichton or obtaining necessary permission as per their contractual obligations with him. Changing the title doesn’t alter the fact that ‘The Pitt’, sharing identical premise, structure, themes, pace, producers, and main cast, is essentially a replica of ‘ER’.

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2024-08-28 03:03

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