8 Ridiculous Behind-The-Scenes Struggles Over Movie Rights

3. Low-Budget Producer Decides He Can Make An Evil Dead Sequel Because Sam Raimi Says He Doesn't Want To

Glenn MacCrae is the president of a virtually unknown production company named Awards Pictures, which has never released a film and has a website that brings me back memories of the good old days of Geocities. But if MacCrae had his way, he would be the proud producer of Evil Dead 4. If only Renaissance Pictures, which produced the original and was formed by The Evil Dead writer/producer/director Sam Raimi, producer Robert Tapert and actor/producer Bruce Campbell, would stop getting in his way! Who do they think they are, anyway? Renaissance Pictures sued Award Pictures back in May 2012 after MacCrae spent several years trying to finance his unauthorized sequel, Evil Dead 4: Consequences. MacCrae argued that Raimi gave up the trademark to the film series because the director said in a 2000 interview that he wasn't planning on making an Evil Dead 4. MacCrae also pointed out numerous films that used the phrase "Evil Dead" in their titles (such as 1988's Evil Dead Trap and its 1992 sequel) that Raimi didn't file lawsuits against as "evidence" that he abandoned the trademark. Of course, this ignores the fact that in 2012 Raimi (along with Tapert and Campbell) were busy producing an Evil Dead remake. It also neglects to recognize that those various movies with the phrase "Evil Dead" in their titles don't attempt to use characters or story elements from the Raimi films. Finally, it just flat out ignores how trademarks work €“ just because Clint Eastwood doesn't plan on making any more Dirty Harry movies doesn't mean someone can just go ahead and make Dirty Harry 6. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that in August 2012 a judge blocked MacCrae's sequel, though MacCrae vowed to fight on. However, Evil Dead 4 has since been removed from Award Pictures' list of upcoming films on its website (although a lengthy, bizarre defense of MacCrae's side of the story remains). However, Bad Day at Black Rock Too is still there, indicating that MacCrae did not learn his lesson about how trademarks and copyrights work.