LOS ANGELES — Members of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R. Tolkien’s charitable trust won two victories in court Friday in their lawsuit against New Line Cinema claiming it is entitled to profits from the blockbuster trilogy. Trust officials allege the film company cheated them out of at least $150 million from the blockbuster movie trilogy based on the late British author’s books. The London-based Tolkien Trust filed its lawsuit Feb. 11, 2008. The most significant ruling for the Tolkien heirs during Friday’s status conference came when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones set a March 3 deadline for both sides to exchange documents. Deadline Issued to Produce Documents for LOTR Lawsuit
Category: Tolkien Estate
Stephen writes: The Tolkien treasures discovered in Poole, Dorset England go on Display on the 15th November at Hazael Design, unit 12 Mill Lane Wimborne. The Lord Mayor to open the launch at 11am. See the postcard written to J R R Tolkien discovered laying behind a fireplace for 40 years. Also the fireplace, Griffin, cast fairy, cast candlesticks, stone face man, stone WOODRIDINGS sign and ornate wardrobe doors. Competion to win a mirror made from the wood reclaimed from “WOODRIDINGS” J R R Tolkiens former home.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has barred the estate of “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien from seeking punitive damages against the studio that brought the trilogy to the big screen. Tolkien’s heirs claim New Line Cinema has failed to pay any royalties from the estimated $6 billion they say the movie has grossed worldwide. The lawsuit is seeking more than $150 million in compensatory damages based on breach of contract, fraud and other claims. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones also ruled this week that the estate and Tolkien heirs have established a legal basis for the fraud claim against New Line. As part of that allegation, the lawsuit claims New Line sent millions of dollars to Time Warner Inc.’s AOL, improperly claiming they were for advertising expenses. The lawsuit also claims the studio built production offices and facilities in New Zealand and listed them as expenses for the “Lord of the Rings” films, although the heirs claim they are now being used for other New Line projects. Continue reading “Court: No punitive damages in ‘LOTR’ suit”
It is that time again – time for Ringer Diedye’s Flashback feature on TheOneRing.net! This week’s flashback details the events that took place in the Tolkien universe between August 23rd and August 30th. This is a weekly feature that Diedye posts in the forum, so if there is ever a time we don’t post it on the homepage of TORn, make sure to check the Main board in our forums. Click on the link below to transported in time!
Continue reading “Tolkien Flashback August 23rd-30th”
TORn has been following the developments of the infamous Tolkien lawsuit for a long time. For those of you who’d like to get caught up in one fell swoop, Frodo Franchise author Kristin Thompson has posted an in-depth blog entry on exactly what is going on:
At last I’ve had a chance to go through the various documents that have piled up this summer in the lawsuit by the Tolkien Trust against New Line Cinema. I first summarized the suit on February 18 and followed that up on April 21. Here I’ll try to lay out the highlights of what has happened since then, month by month. Earlier this year I was hopeful that we would see a settlement in the case this summer, but that was obviously overly optimistic.
[Read On]
Businesswire.com reports: Greenberg Glusker announces that entertainment attorneys Bert Fields and Bonnie E. Eskenazi were included on The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers list– its annual report of the 100 most influential attorneys in the entertainment industry. One of just a handful of women named to the Power Lawyers list, Ms. Eskenazi regularly plays a leading role in resolving high-profile and landmark entertainment disputes. Currently, Ms. Eskenazi represents the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, in a $150 million profit participation action against New Line Cinema.