New Line Cinema famously settled its legal dispute with The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson late last year. But as far as I can tell, the lawsuit filed by Saul Zaentz, who owns the film rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, is still a going concern. And now, the Associated Press reports that the studio is facing yet another lawsuit — this time, from the Tolkien estate, the HarperCollins publishing company, and possibly others:
The plaintiffs seek more than $150 million in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including “The Hobbit.”
Such an order would scuttle plans New Line has in the works to make a two-film prequel based on “The Hobbit.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has posted its own report on the rumours surrounding the possibility that New Line might be shut down by parent company Time Warner and/or folded into the regular Warner Brothers movie studio, which would “add to an already heavy slate of films that have strained the studio’s resources.” Would Warner, which still has at least two more Harry Potter films in the wings, commit to yet another major fantasy duo? Or, seeing all the legal problems that they might inherit from New Line, would they decide it wasn’t worth the extra hassle?
Make of all that what you will.
(Hat tip to Jeffrey Overstreet at The Looking Closer Journal for the Associated Press story.)
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In