Writer Unboxed

Tolkien Vs. New Line Cinema

Those of us hoping New Line’s movie version of The Hobbit would proceed now that its dispute with filmmaker Peter Jackson is resolved have taken another blow. New Line is now being sued by JRR Tolkien’s heirs (NYT, free subscription required):

Following in the footsteps of Peter Jackson, the director of the Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, heirs to J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the books on which the films are based, are suing New Line Cinema for failing to pay them at least $150 million, which they say they are owed as part of the movies’ gross receipts.

In the current lawsuit the plaintiffs are also seeking unspecified punitive damages and are asking the court to terminate New Line’s rights to make any subsequent films based on “The Hobbit” or “The Lord of the Rings.”

The Tolkien estate contends that New Line is in breach of contract for failing to pay the 7.5% of the film’s gross revenues, which are in excess of $6 billion.

Stay tuned…

In other news, the US Postal Service is raising rates again (time to buy those Forever stamps for your queries); HarperCollins will soon make books available for free online; Random House intends to experiment by selling book chapters online; BookWise decides to dabble in publishing–and Writer Beware says to take care. And THIS happy breaking news from booktrade.info: “Members of the Writers Guild of America officially called off their strike last night, voting overwhelmingly to end their 14-week walkout and return to work, beginning today, to restart the disrupted television season.” Read your WU Google Notebook for details about these and other bits of books and business news HERE.

Kathleen Bolton is co-founder of Writer Unboxed. She has written two novels under the pseudonym Cassidy Calloway: Confessions of a First Daughter, and Secrets of a First Daughter--both books in a YA series about the misadventures of the U.S. President's teen-aged daughter, published by HarperCollins.

Kathleen Bolton

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One Response to “Tolkien Vs. New Line Cinema”

Michelle

says:

February 13, 2008 at 2:16 pm

Kathleen, sadly i have not read your books( im into love magic and a break from reality),and am new to the site. I found your comments on Juliets site rather fascinating, and was inspired to read your thoughts, you seem outspoken and colourful in thought.

Regarding new line vs tolkien, I have to ask the following…. I have read attonement, a fabulous novel, and a sure “heart string puller” and when i heard of the movie review, I did not wish to see the movie, fear of ruining the book and the writers talent. Similarly I read Eragon, and was sorely disappointed at the movie representation. How do movie themes and writes work together to get it write for those people who do not read?

Regarding online, and the advent of the net, for me the beauty of reading is holding a book, not sitting behind a pc to read chapters, yet I guess through the net one can get a feel for the writers style, if it communicates to the reader , and in so doing prompts purchase.

Sadly I am just a reader, not a knowledgeable guru as the comments seem to indicate, but I would appreciate your view regardless.

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