Tolkien
Estate Sues Movie Bosses
2/12/08
The estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the movie bosses behind
the Lord of the Rings films for non-payment of royalties.
The Tolkiens claim New Line Cinema executives owe them a large cut of
the trilogy's gross profits.
The Tolkien Trust charity and publishing house HarperCollins joined
forces to file the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles on
Monday (11Feb08).
The plaintiffs claim New Line was required to pay over seven per cent
of gross receipts from the films to Tolkien's estate. The lawsuit
estimates the three films have made $6 billion at the international box
office.