Reby Hardy Interviewed About GFW Situation

Reby Hardy was interviewed by Sports Illustrated about the Hardys vs. GFW situation. The interview is mostly Reby responding to claims GFW’s Ed Nordholm made in a previous interview and there isn’t too much that we haven’t already heard, but here are a few highlights:

SI: Is Anthem correct in its assertion that it owns the “Broken Universe” intellectual property?

Hardy: There is enough question in the contract, in terms of gimmick development and intellectual property, that our attorneys strongly feel that there is a case.

If there were no question about it, like Jeff Jarrett and Ed Nordholm continue to say, then I would not be discussing it, and neither would Matt. There is enough of a question in the contract that it is worth fighting over. If it were as cut-and-dry as Anthem is trying to make everyone believe, then we would have stopped pursuing it. That’s not the case. There are legal questions over the verbiage in the contract, and we have a good chance of winning this battle.

Reby explained why the Hardys would rather settle than go to court:

SI: Are the Hardys willing to go to court to pursue the IP? Are you optimistic of a judge or jury ruling in your favor?

Hardy: Going to the court is not like going to the grocery store. There is a lot of money involved in a legal case, which is another reason why Anthem is dragging this out as long as they can. Jeff Jarrett said, “Just keep dragging it out, they’ll get tired of spending money.” We would rather settle this like civil human beings, which is what we have tried to do for months and months.

There are so many things that, if we choose to go to court, we can also add into the case. Senor Benjamin, who is my father, never signed a release to have his image be marketed. Technically, they should not have been able to air his footage. They do not have a release for my son, Maxel, who had no written documents saying he could be on set at Universal Studios, which could jeopardize their relationship with the place where they film on a monthly basis. There is also the fact that I created—shot, directed, and edited—so much footage that I never gave them a release to use, either.

However, she says in the end, “I feel like there will never be an agreement without going to court.”

Hardy: F— these guys, to put it bluntly. After Matt financed his own shoots and put hours and hours of his own time writing the shows? F— these guys. We didn’t have any scripts. They’re claiming IP, they’re claiming this is their character and development, but we never had one script or one shoot sheet. That was all Matt pouring himself into the character and dedicating himself to it.

When it comes down to it, this comes down to their ego versus all of the time, effort, and passion we have put into this project and gimmick.

This is a personal investment vs. ego. I feel like there will never be an agreement without going to court.