Variety reports that Saul Zaentz, who has owned the film rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings since 1976, is suing New Line Cinema for the chance to look at their financial records, to see whether they have paid him his proper share of the profits from Peter Jackson’s enormously successful trilogy.
You may recall that Jackson himself is suing New Line for pretty much the same thing — and that Jackson’s lawsuit is one of the reasons why many people think a film version of The Hobbit will never get made, at least not by these guys.
You may also recall that Zaentz said over a year ago that the film rights to The Hobbit would be reverting to him in the very, very near future — and that Jackson would make the film, with or without New Line.
And all of this is happening while New Line’s latest attempt at a popular fantasy franchise — Chris Weitz’s adaptation of The Golden Compass — has been seriously underperforming at the box office.
Make of all that what you will.
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