Michael Mann Takes Heat Ownership Fight to Court as New Regency Challenges His Copyright Claims

A legal dispute over the screenplay for Heat has erupted between filmmaker Michael Mann and New Regency, putting the ownership of the 1995 crime classic at the center of a federal case. Mann has sought to reclaim rights to the work, while the studio is asking a judge to rule that his copyright termination notices are invalid. New Regency argues that Mann’s writing on the screenplay was done as “work for hire,” meaning, in the company’s view, he cannot use copyright termination provisions to take back the rights. The company says it continues to own the screenplay and the related film, television and other rights. Its complaint warns that Mann’s notices could cloud the company’s ownership and affect its ability to develop or license projects based on Heat. Mann’s representatives dispute that account. They say the filing concerns original writing he completed across several screenplays in the 1980s, which ultimately developed into Heat. The director, who wrote, produced and directed the film starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, is seeking to exercise what his team describes as authors’ statutory rights to reclaim creative work after decades. His side also points to an oral agreement from 1988 and provisions in the Writers Guild of America’s basic agreement as part of its position. Mann’s representatives say they will defend his rights in court. New Regency, meanwhile, says the outcome could have implications for agreements involving the planned follow-up, Heat 2. The parties have stressed that the lawsuit is separate from the sequel’s production schedule. Mann’s team said filming is expected to begin January 19, while the dispute now turns on how the court interprets the earlier agreements and copyright law. The case sets the filmmaker’s claim to reclaim his work against the studio’s assertion that it has held the relevant rights for more than three decades.