Following up this story from February 2008, Variety is reporting The Tolkien Trust, New Line Cinema, and HarperCollins have settled their lawsuit “over the gross profit participation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s heirs from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
The settlement was announced today, but the parties to the suit are keeping the terms of that settlement confidential. The settlement means a planned 19 October lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court will be avoided.
The Tolkien Trust—a British charitable trust representing the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)—sued to stop the further production of films based on the author’s work, and sought payment of at least $220 million based on the three Lord of the Rings films directed by Peter Jackson and released by New Line (a division of Warner Brothers). Their claim was that, under a 1969 contract, the trust and the other Tolkien heirs are entitled to 7.5% of gross receipts from films and related products. The Trust also asked the court to allow them to “terminate any further rights New Line had to the Tolkien works under the agreements.”
Warner Brothers President Alan Horn said “We are pleased to put this litigation behind us. We all look forward to a mutually productive and beneficial relationship in the future.”
Bonnie E. Eskenazi, an attorney for the Tolkien trust, told Daily Variety that settlement talks had been going on for several months. Of the settlement, she said the plaintiffs are “vindicated and completely satisfied.” She continued “This will enhance the trust’s ability to support more than 100 charities throughout the world.” Those charities include Save the Children Fund, the Darfur Appeal, Asia Earthquake Appeal, and the World Cancer Research Foundation.
The settlement means New Line can now move ahead with production of the two films based on The Hobbit, which had previously been announced. Jackson will produce the films along with Fran Walsh (for New Line and MGM, which has the international rights to the films). Guillermo del Toro is slated to direct.
Related articles previously published on SFScope:
Tolkien estate sues New Line Cinemas over Lord of the Rings movie profits (12 February 2008)
Guillermo del Toro to direct the upcoming The Hobbit (31 January 2008)