“Star Wars” writers miss royalty payments for news: Report – Deadline

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the authors of Star Wars the novels received royalty checks for their work. But this practice seems to have ended around 2012.

Now, the empire is ready to strike, as a group action of the authors of the Star Wars adaptations and other franchises become public. They claim that Disney has refused to pay royalties for book contracts since it absorbed Lucasfilms in 2012 in a $ 4 billion deal, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

These writers say that Disney was late in handling their complaints or stuck them in checks that rarely total several thousand dollars a piece. And the Star Wars franchise is not the only source of trouble.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Association supports other authors of books related to projects from Indiana Jones to Buffy Vampire Slayer presented similar non-payment stories, all in circumstances similar to the Star Wars number. Once Disney purchased the properties, the checks were no longer mailed.

The WSJ report says that becoming how much money could be owed is complicated, as sales and royalties for the books involved have fluctuated enormously over time.

A Disney spokesman told the WSJ: “We are carefully considering whether royalty payments may have been lost as a result of the acquisition’s integration and will take appropriate remedial action if necessary.”

At least half a dozen writers from a range of Disney-owned properties reported that no checks were received, said Mary Robinette Kowal, president of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

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