Warren Beatty wins Dick Tracy lawsuit!

Warren Beatty has emerged victorious in his legal dispute with Tribune Media Services over the right to make movies and TV shows using the comic book crime fighter Dick Tracy.

U.S. District Court Judge Dean D. Pregerson granted Beatty’s request for a summary judgment last Thursday in the long-running dispute over the character Beatty portrayed in his 1990 film, Dick Tracy, which earned more than $160 million at global box offices.

Beatty had sued Tribune Media, a unit of Tribune Co., back in 2008, claiming Tribune acted wrongly in trying to retrieve the character’s rights, which it had assigned to Beatty.

Under the original 1985 agreement between Beatty and Tribune, the rights would revert to Tribune if “a certain period of time” lapsed without Beatty having produced another Dick Tracy movie, TV series or TV special.

Tribune “may be frustrated that [Beatty] has not used his rights to Dick Tracy for more profitable ends,” Judge Pregerson wrote in his ruling. The judge said the contract did not stipulate projects needed to make money.

Bert Fields, Beatty’s lawyer, told the Chicago Tribune in March 2009, “Obviously, Warren would have preferred to go ahead with [a new Tracy] picture, so he produced the special to extend the rights, and the contract very clearly says you can do that. He sold [the special], even though the contract doesn’t require him to do that. The contract doesn’t even require him to finish it. He just has to start it.”

Recent reports claimed Warren and his wife, actress Annette Bening, have been clashing over their eldest daughter Kathlyn’s plan to have a sex change.

Sources say Annette is supportive of Kathlyn’s life-changing decision, but Warren isn’t and it’s causing friction between the Hollywood couple.

“Problems had been brewing between them since Kathlyn was 16 and announced she wanted to change her sex,” an insider told American tabloid the National Enquirer.

“Annette was accepting of it, but Warren hit the roof. He’s very conservative and just can’t agree to it.

“They are seriously feuding. Warren is being obstinate and not supporting Annette on her current promotional tour, and he isn’t budging.”