Michael Mann Sued by New Regency Over Bid to Reclaim Copyright to Original 'Heat' Screenplay

New Regency, the studio that produced Michael Mann's 1995 crime drama Heat, has sued the filmmaker in federal court in Los Angeles, asking a judge to declare invalid three notices Mann served this year in an effort to reclaim the copyright to his original screenplay. The complaint, filed Friday, Nov. 13, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 2:26-cv-13316), argues that Mann wrote the script as a "work made for hire" and therefore cannot terminate the studio's rights under the Copyright Act.

Mann's representatives said he will fight the case. "We will vigorously defend this action and are confident that the courts will vindicate Michael Mann's statutory rights under the Copyright Act," a spokesperson said in a statement reported by Variety, Deadline and TheWrap. The spokesperson added: "For clarification, this is unrelated to production of Heat 2 which will begin shooting on January 19."

What New Regency Is Asking the Court to Decide

The lawsuit is a complaint for declaratory relief. New Regency asks the court to declare that Mann's termination notices are "null and void," that the Heat screenplay "is not eligible for copyright termination under 17 U.S.C. § 203," and that the company "retains all rights to the Screenplay," according to the filing's prayer for relief.

Section 203 of the Copyright Act allows authors to terminate grants of rights they made on or after Jan. 1, 1978, after a set number of years, but the statute excludes works made for hire. New Regency's complaint states that Mann wrote the screenplay as a work made for hire, "a fact that Mann stated repeatedly in written agreements that he personally signed, both on his own behalf and on behalf of companies that he controlled."

"If given effect, the Termination Notices would purport to strip Regency, beginning in 2028, of rights it has held for more than three decades, clouding Regency's title to the Screenplay and jeopardizing its ability to develop, finance, and license works derived from it," the 20-page complaint states, as quoted by Deadline.

Three Notices and a Disputed 1988 'Oral Assignment'

According to the complaint, Mann served New Regency with his first termination notice on April 29, 2026. That notice sought to terminate an alleged October 1988 assignment of rights from Mann to two companies he controlled, the Michael Mann Company, a loan-out company he formed in 1976, and ZZY, Inc. The notice described the work as "Heat a/k/a The Other Side a/k/a LA Takedown a/k/a Hanna."

The studio says that when it asked for a copy of the assignment, Mann's lawyer said it was an oral agreement that had never been put in writing. The complaint describes it as "an oral agreement that Mann allegedly made with himself, in which Mann, like a Shakespearean actor playing multiple parts, simultaneously spoke on his own individual behalf, as well as on behalf of MMCo. and ZZY."

A second notice, served May 21, 2026, referred to the same alleged 1988 oral assignment, and a third, served May 28, 2026, sought to terminate a written agreement between Mann, his loan-out company and Ajar, Inc., another company controlled by Mann, the filing says. New Regency argues that every work covered by the Ajar agreement was itself a work made for hire. The complaint also says the first two notices list effective termination dates of April 30, 2028, and May 22, 2028, which it contends are earlier than the statute would allow even if the notices were otherwise valid.

The 1994 Paperwork at the Center of the Case

The complaint traces the screenplay's chain of title to a June 1, 1994, agreement in which Mann's loan-out company assigned Warner Bros. the rights to "the material written by [Mann] for [MMCo.] as a work made for hire," including the screenplay titled Heat and material from the earlier NBC television film L.A. Takedown. Mann signed that agreement on behalf of the company and in his personal capacity, the filing says. An August 1994 certificate of employment, also signed by Mann, stated that related materials "are and shall be deemed to be works made for hire," according to the complaint.

New Regency says it acquired the rights to the screenplay in 1994 and produced the film, which Warner Bros. distributed. Heat, starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer, premiered on Dec. 15, 1995.

Mann's camp frames the dispute differently. "This filing has to do with original and personal writing Michael Mann did on multiple screenplays during the 1980s and which evolved into the iconic 1995 film 'Heat' that Mann wrote, produced and directed," his spokesperson said. "After 40 years Michael Mann is exercising the right of authors to reclaim their work and in this case Michael Mann's original creation."

Where 'Heat 2' Stands

Heat 2 is based on the 2022 novel Mann wrote with Meg Gardiner and works as both a prequel and a sequel to the original film, TheWrap reported. Mann is writing and directing the film, and Deadline reported that the cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Adam Driver, Stephen Graham and Jason Clarke.

Warner Bros. was originally set to produce the sequel but backed out, and Amazon MGM Studios has since acquired the film, Variety reported. According to the complaint, Mann executed a grant to Amazon Content Services LLC on or about Oct. 8, 2026, covering any Heat 2 rights he may personally recapture through the notices, and New Regency executed its own agreement granting Amazon certain of its Heat 2 rights on Oct. 16, 2026. The filing says both agreements expressly reference the disputed termination notices, and Deadline quoted the complaint as saying that "certain provisions of the agreements that Mann and Regency each entered into with Amazon with respect to Heat 2 depend on the outcome of this litigation."

No ruling has been issued in the case. The complaint presents New Regency's allegations, which Mann disputes.

Sources

• New Regency Productions v. Mann, Complaint, Case No. 2:26-cv-13316 (C.D. Cal., filed Nov. 13, 2026), via CourtListener
• Deadline: Michael Mann & New Regency Clash In Ownership Battle Over 'Heat'
• Variety: Michael Mann Seeks to Reclaim Rights to Original 'Heat' Screenplay
• TheWrap: New Regency Sues Michael Mann to Reassert Ownership of 'Heat'