HOLLYWOOD - Film studio New Line Cinema has filed a multimillion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against a video company over a documentary about The Golden Compass author Philip Pullman.
The studio claims the 70-minute DVD film, Beyond the Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman, is an attempt by company Koch Entertainment to cash in on the publicity surrounding the new $180 million big-screen adaptation of the writer's fantasy novel, which stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig.
The movie is due to hit theaters in December--while the DVD was released on Nov. 19, and by Koch's own admission, is to "coincide with the big-budget film adaptation."
And New Line has also called into question the similarity of the DVD's cover sleeve to the film's publicity posters--the documentary cover features an unarmored polar bear and a compass-like device; the same as the movie's promotional material, which also depicts Kidman and Craig.
But Koch Entertainment has denied the copyright claim.
The two parties met for a hearing in a New York court on Monday, but a ruling has yet to be made.
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