KEY POINTS:
Lord of the Rings creator JRR Tolkien's estate is suing the makers of The Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy the Associated Press has reported.
The Tolkien Trust and book publisher HarperCollins say New Line Cinema, the studio that released the films, has not paid the agreed 7.5 per cent cut of gross receipts from the blockbuster trilogy.
The films - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - have made nearly US$6 billion (NZ$7.7 billion) worldwide, according to the lawsuit.
According to AP the lawsuit seeks US$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.
Given that plans are already in place to begin work on a two-film prequel based on Tolkien's The Hobbit, the lawsuit could prove disasterous for New Line, if successful.
- NZHERALD STAFF
