Article says the Tolkien estate intervened directly to bock the film and filed for $150M against New Line for the previous ‘Rings movies.
This is interesting. Because I thought J.R.R. Tolkien had sold the rights for the films a long time ago and that any rights were held by Saul Zaentz.
I’m happy for the Tolkien’s, since I would like to see them receive something for all the attention their late father’s work has received. I hesitate to use the term “deserve” or “owed” since, if the rights were sold, they aren’t owed or deserve anything—it would just be nice to see them get something!
Christopher Tolkien has done a lot of work to keep his father’s writing alive by transcribing from his father’s tremendous library of notes and publishing the many volumes of the History of Middle-Earth. And he’s no young man. In his eighties, I think! I think he and the surviving Tokien’s have probably done alright by this work alone, but it would be something again if they can get in on some of the action of the films.
Would love to hear how the settlement, if anything, went for them. But I guess that’s sealed.
Aintitcool.com says that the settlement was around $220 million divided (not evenly) between the Tolkien estate and Harper Collins.
To quote from ainitcools take on the settlement, “This was always going to be the end of this particular snag, it was more about finding that number that all parties could live with.”
The reason for the suit is that the Tolkien Estate claimed that New Line shorted them on the royalties for TLOTR, a very old Hollywood practice. Usually these suits are unsuccessful, but the clearance of rights to the Hobbit was vital to New Line.
The current status of the film is that Jackson has completed the film ‘treatment’ and is working on the first draft of the shooting script. Sets, e.g. Hobbiton, are being refurbished, shooting locations are being picked out. Gandalf, Gollum, and Elrond will be performed by the same actors, other casting is not accomplished. A nasty rumor about Tom Cruise getting Bilbo has apparently been quashed. Filming will start early in 2010, midsummer in New Zealand.