A lot of folk were starting to get excited about the developing news regarding Peter Jackson as “executive producer” of two Hobbit prequels. However, some breaking news may paint a bleak picture:

Tolkien estate sues New Line Cinema

The estate of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn’t paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.

The suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien’s estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.

Peter Jackson was having some legal trouble with New Line as well. It always comes down to the money. I do find it interesting that both lawsuits were about non-payment from NLC.

The writer’s estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original “Lord of the Rings” publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles Superior Court. If successful, it could block the long-awaited prequel to the films.

If anyone has further information on this development, feel free to post some links in the comments. I’d like to follow the story as events play out.

Tags | fantasy films, lord of the rings