{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Tolkien estate trustees sue studio' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c203d8eafeecae1567c9' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c203d8eafeecae1567c9' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nTolkien estate trustees sue studio\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=\"\u003e/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eAPTN. Berlin, 9 December 20031. B-roll Peter Jackson on set with Bernard Hill and Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler.2. MS Viggo Mortensen and Bernard Hill take scene3. MS lineup of cast on balcony4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Peter Jackson,...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eAPTN. Berlin, 9 December 2003\u003cbr/\u003e1. B-roll Peter Jackson on set with Bernard Hill and Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler.\u003cbr/\u003e2. MS Viggo Mortensen and Bernard Hill take scene\u003cbr/\u003e3. MS lineup of cast on balcony\u003cbr/\u003e4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Peter Jackson, Director:\u003cbr/\u003e\"So we are just going to say goodbye, thank you all for a wonderful welcome and we hope that you enjoy the movie that we made. Thank You.\"\u003cbr/\u003e5. MS line up cast on balcony\u003cbr/\u003eAPTN, Wellington New Zealand, 1/12/03\u003cbr/\u003e3. Set up man in hobbit costume\u003cbr/\u003e4. Vox Pops elves:\u003cbr/\u003e\"I just like Lord of the Rings because it's the best film ever.\" \u003cbr/\u003e5. Vs film characters walk the red carpet\u003cbr/\u003e6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Viggo Mortensen:\u003cbr/\u003e\"Like everyone I got a sword, and the others got other props.\"\u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sean Astin:\u003cbr/\u003e\"So that and the sword and a pair of Hobbits.\"\u003cbr/\u003e8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Peter Jackson:\u003cbr/\u003e\" And I kind of thought, wow this is working, this is getting to me which I was pleased about.\"\u003cbr/\u003eThe estate of \"Lord of the Rings\" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company has not paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion  the films have grossed worldwide.\u003cbr/\u003eThe suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien's estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500  for the three movies before production began.\u003cbr/\u003eThe writer's estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original \"Lord of the Rings\" publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles Superior Court. If successful, it could block the long-awaited prequel to the films.\u003cbr/\u003eRobert Pini, a spokesman for Time Warner Inc.'s New Line, declined to comment.\u003cbr/\u003eThe films - 2001's \"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,\" 2002's \"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,\" and 2003's \"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King\" , have reaped nearly $6 billion combined worldwide, according to the complaint.\u003cbr/\u003eThe estimate includes everything from box-office receipts to revenue from sales of DVDs and other products.\u003cbr/\u003eThe 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.\"\u003cbr/\u003eSuch an order would scupper plans by New Line to make a two-film prequel based on \"The Hobbit.\" \"Rings\" trilogy director Peter Jackson has already signed on to serve as executive producer on the project, which is tentatively slated to begin production next year with releases planned for 2010 and 2011.\u003cbr/\u003e\"The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court,\" Steven Maier, an attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement.\u003cbr/\u003e\"New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures.\"\u003cbr/\u003eMaier also claims the film studio has blocked the Tolkien estate and the other plaintiffs from auditing the receipts of the last two films.\u003cbr/\u003eThe lawsuit claims J.R.R. Tolkien established a trust through which he signed a film deal in 1969 with United Artists. After Tolkien's death, his heirs created the charity in the author's name.\u003cbr/\u003eMeanwhile, the original agreement terms were picked up by Hollywood producer Saul Zaentz, who produced an animated film in 1978 based on the \"Rings\" books.\u003cbr/\u003eZaentz licensed the rights to make live-action films to Miramax Film Corp. in 1997, but a subsequent agreement between Zaentz and Miramax led to New Line taking on all the rights and obligations in the deal.\u003cbr/\u003eThat included the obligation to pay the Tolkien estate 7.5 percent of gross receipts for any films based on the author's books once the films made more than 2.6 times their final cost of production, according to the lawsuit.\u003cbr/\u003eTolkien's heirs, some of whom also serve as trustees of the charity, contend New Line used bogus accounting and allowed the destruction of records to cheat them out of a slice of the film's profits.\u003cbr/\u003eLawyers for the plaintiffs said they have spent the years since the movies hit theatres trying to negotiate a settlement with New Line.\u003cbr/\u003eOther disputes over the film's earnings have surfaced in recent years.\u003cbr/\u003eIn 2004, Zaentz sued New Line, claiming the studio cheated him out of $20 million in royalties from the film trilogy, which he optioned to New Line for a percentage of the movie's profits.\u003cbr/\u003eHe and the film studio reached an out-of-court settlement a year later.\u003cbr/\u003eJackson's production company also tangled with New Line in 2005 over profits from the films. A lawsuit was settled last year. \u003cbr/\u003eTime Warner executives are considering folding New Line  into its Warner Bros. division or keeping the brand as a separate production unit with Warner Bros. handling its distribution, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Monday), citing people familiar with the situation. \u003cbr/\u003eThe newspaper said that in either scenario, New Line would be reduced to producing low-budget films as it once did instead of blockbusters like its recent Lord of the Rings  trilogy. The Journal did not indicate what would become of The Hobbit , the Lord of the Rings prequel, which New Line is scheduled to produce this year.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eCurator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan class=\"star-rating\" aria-label=\" out of 5 stars\" role=\"img\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt class=\"educator-rating-title\"\u003eEducator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"educator-rating-details\" data-path=\"/educator_ratings/rrp_data?resourceable_id=899327\u0026amp;resourceable_type=Boclips%3A%3AVideoMetadata\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"not-yet-rated\"\u003eNot yet Rated\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eGrade\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd title=\"Grade\"\u003eAll Grades\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eSource:\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eDate\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e2008\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-solid fa-language'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='educator-ratings-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title sr-only' id='educator-ratings-heading'\u003eEducator Ratings\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"educator-ratings-root\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"all-educator-ratings-root\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"educator-rating-form-root\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Show resource details' class='rp-show-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nShow resource details\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Video player' class='player' id='player-wrapper' role='region'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='relative container mx-auto' id='lp-boclips-visitor-thumbnail'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"block\" data-html=\"true\" data-placement=\"bottom\" data-trigger=\"click\" data-content=\"\u003cdiv class=\u0026quot;text-center py-2\u0026quot;\u003e\u003ca class=\u0026quot;bold\u0026quot; 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