Tolkien Trust sues New Line

February 12, 2008 On Monday, J.R.R. Tolkien's estate -- a British charity called the Tolkien Trust -- filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against New Line seeking a court order terminating any rights the studio has to any of the author's works, including "Hobbit." The Tolkien Trust and the author's original publisher, HarperCollins, claim that New Line has committed "accounting chicanery" by, among other things, inflating the cost of each film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by more than $100 million and refusing to allow an audit of the second and third films in the "Rings" series. The plaintiffs allege that New Line and Peter Jackson's Katja Motion Picture Group owe them at least $150 million in gross profits from the billion-dollar "Rings" trilogy, which has grossed $6 billion worldwide, a figure that encompasses both boxoffice and DVD sales, according to the complaint.

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