Bilbo Baggins has more to worry about than Smeagol and the One Ring. The estate of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R. Tolkien has filed suit against New Line Cinema, the makers of the film adaptation of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
The claim filed by the Tolkien Trust, a British charity, in conjunction with HarperCollins claims that New Line only paid the estate an upfront fee of $62,500 for the three LOTR films. Films in the trilogy included “The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Two Towers,” and “The Return of the King” - all combined to bring in $6 billion from box office sales to merchandising. If everything goes smoothly for the Tolkien Trust, New Line’s upcoming film “The Hobbit,” prequel to the LOTR trilogy,” may get shutdown.
The suit asks for $150 million and the right to terminate New Line’s ability to make any other movies based on Tolkien’s work.
This is not the first suit filed against New Line. Saul Zaentz, producer of the 1978 animated film based on the trilogy optioned the film rights for the movie to New Line. The suit filed in 2004 claimed New Line refused to pay Zaentz $20 million in royalties. The suit was settled out of court. Peter Jackson’s production company.
Peter Jackson, who directed the trilogy, had his own suit filed against New Line over profits from the movies. Originally, Jackson said he wouldn’t work on “The Hobbit” film, but New Line reached a settlement with Jackson in 2007.
