Tolkien trial
Bloomberg.com reports that the case taken out by Tolkien’s heirs against New Line Cinema will be heard in the Los Angeles Superior Court in October this year. Tolkien’s family and the Tolkien Trust are asking for more than $220 million compensation and “also want the option to terminate further rights to the author’s work”.
11 Comments
If they were ripped off with the money from the movies and all items associated (I think that was the previous problem) then by all means speak up about it, but to ask that acess to the rights be terminated is ridiculous. They’re really shooting themselves in the foot if they do that. Are they aware of the even greater fanatisicm that the movies brought, hence, more people reading the books? I don’t get it. 220 million seems a little high to me. =(
*head in hands*
I can’t believe they’re going through all this again, it just stinks. As starofdunedain made a very good point about, the movies have increased interest in LOTR by the millions. Why Tolkien’s family and the Tolkien Trust can’t face this fact escapes me. Let’s just hope that this will not hinder, in any way, production of the Hobbit movie(s)…or else I shall personally have to go to the Tolkien Trust and give em the what for.
XD
Another thing I would like to point out is that they are doing this at a very convenient time for themselves, when the filming of the Hobbit has already been announced and money has already been invested in pre-production.
Why, I ask, did Tolkien Estate wait til 2009 to sue for compensation? They could have easily sued in 2004 through 2008 if they weren’t receiving money as promised. But they waited until now, just when the announcement has been made. Hmmmm.
I believe the Tolkien Estate has been wanting the money for quite sometime now – if this is the same case that was forwarded a few years ago – so I don’t think it was intentional to do it now during ‘The Hobbit’s announcement.
Although I’m all in favour of the Tolkien Estate IF there was any breach of contract by part of New Line Cinema, I do fear with what might happen with ‘The Hobbit’ – but rules are rules and I respect whatever decision is taken …
If Only they’d wait AFTER the prequels come out THEN they ask for the money- if the movies turn out just as good as the trilogy (Here’s hoping that they are) but it’s quite a waste to terminate the rights for New Line…
Guuuh, they have no idea what they’re doing. -_-‘
If it wasn’t for the movies, I wouldn’t have known about Lord of the Rings.
They should be GRATEFUL that they are making movies. Maan, they must be millionaires. Gaaaahhh…
I disagree with what most of you are saying. The accounting practices of these huge companies need to be looked at carefully, and if you do some research, you will find that the plaintiffs did indeed file the complaint back in 2008. As this article mentions, several people have filed complaints, including Peter Jackson. Obviously something is wrong in the New Line world. Yes, I’ll be disappointed if The Hobbit is not allowed to continue, but compensation needs to be given where it is rightfully due. Frankly, why are we all so upset about the movies? The books are really where the treasure lies, and until we reach a time when books have disappeared, I’d much rather follow Bilbo or Frodo’s paths in my mind.
Money ruins everything….
I wonder what J.R.R Tolkein would say about this, since as it was his desire to create an alternative mythology for EVERYBODY to enjoy. If filming had never taken place then The Lord of the Rings would have just become another book on the archive shelves gathering dust, like so many other books have. I feel very weary of their timing, and to me it looks like they only wish to give Peter Jackson and New Line a bad name. It also looks like they want to put people in alot of finacial difficulty. Why do they seem to be trying to take somthing away from the people? They were not kicking up a fuss when artists started to dedicate thier working lives to painting from Tolkien’s work, so why attempt to destory other creative works dedicated to Tolkien? Whether you’re a director or a painter you are still and artist. (sorry, trailing off there). I accutaly surprized that the film makers were not put into debt after filming due to the depth of the art on screen!
I know these people will probably see themselves as “the guardians” of J.R.R. Tolkien, but here i do belive that they are not keeping Tolkeins wishes in mind. Besides that i felt so lucky to finaly get my “Sting” pendant and “one ring” as it took me a year to save up for them, so there is not a lack of money coming from the fans pockets.