June 8, 2025 and ninety-five years ago on this day in 1930, Edgar Rice Burroughs met with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to negotiate rights to a new Tarzan film. Burroughs wanted $75,000.00. MGM insisted that was too much to ask.
Based on court records, MGM paid Burroughs, Inc. a lump sum of $20,000 in a 1931 agreement for the right to use the Tarzan character in a single film. This agreement granted MGM the right to create an original story featuring Tarzan and to produce remakes of the initial film, under specific conditions. It is crucial to note that this agreement did not involve the transfer of any copyrights or licenses of copyrights to MGM.
MGM produced 6 Tarzan films, “Tarzan the Ape Man, “Tarzan and His Mate,” “Tarzan Escapes,” “Tarzan Finds a Son,” “Tarzan’s Secret Treasure,” and “Tarzan’s New York Adventure.”
All six films featured Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan. Details about all six films: www.erbzine.com.
The fictional drabble for today, “Right to Remake,” was inspired by my totally unfounded deductions concerning those negotiations.
Edgar Rice Burroughs said, “I’ll take $20,000 for film rights, but that’s only the rights to “Tarzan of the Apes.” Before you make other Tarzan films, you’ll have to pay me more money.”
“Mr. Burroughs, it’s the same character.”
‘I’ve written several Tarzan novels. Readers have to pay for a new book to read a new adventure. This is no different.”
“Excellent analogy. If your readers want to reread a story, they don’t have to pay twice. If we remake the same story, we shouldn’t have to pay you again.”
“True, but I wish I hadn’t gone down this road.”
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