Peter S. Beagle - Dispute With Granada Media Ended

Dispute With Granada Media Ended

Peter S. Beagle's book The Last Unicorn was made into an animated film in 1982, based on a screenplay written by Beagle himself. In 1979 Beagle had a contract with ITC Entertainment which entitled Beagle to 5% of the net profits in the animated property, and 5% of the gross revenues from any film-related merchandising. Since 1999 this film has been controlled by a British company, Granada Media International (a subsidiary of ITV plc). From 2003 through 2011 Beagle was involved in a financial dispute with Granada over nonpayment of contractually due profit and merchandising shares. On July 29, 2011, Beagle announced at his Otakon appearance that he and ITV had reached an agreement that was beneficial to all parties, and should please fans of The Last Unicorn because it will make new merchandise and business development possible. On October 14, 2011, at his New York Comic Con appearance, he announced the first results of the deal, including limited edition art prints of original concept paintings from the film, a nationwide digital screening tour with Peter doing audience Q&A, and a complete renovation of the original film for worldwide release in movie theaters in 2015.