Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark might be fascinating Broadway fans with its crazy stunts, but the pending litigation surrounding the production is far more shocking. Original director Julie Taymor was booted after the budget soared and delays, coupled with bad press, escalated the fears of investors. Eventually, the ship was righted, but when producers decided to cut Taymor out of the profits, she responded with a lawsuit. That legal action eventually turned into a countersuit that viciously blamed the former director for most of the show’s early shortcomings. Now she’s fired back with an answer to those charges, and her allegations are even more explosive.
In her briefing, Taymor claims she was more than willing to make changes but couldn’t because the producers engaged in a conspiracy to push her out. Her suggestions were reportedly ignored while Edge and Bono, the music writers, continually missed rehearsals and failed to deliver the changes she asked for. She thinks the investors decided to axe her in order to quell the negative buzz surrounding the musical. After she was canned, Robert Aguirre-Sacassa was brought in to rework the book, but Taymor says the product currently being shown is basically the same one she wrote. As such, she thinks she’s entitled to all the royalties already agreed upon.
There’s long been rumors that this legal confrontation would soon be settled. That hasn’t happened yet. Her angry allegations today would seem to push the situation closer to a courtroom showdown, but one would imagine neither side would be stupid enough to actually let a jury decide. That process is so unpredictable, and no one wants to bring in that unknown factor. Look for both parties to squabble a bit more and then agree to a confidential settlement.
