May the Lawsuits Begin

Just over the last few days two major lawsuits have sprung from the heap of nothing to cause problems. First up! Tolkien trouble!

The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien is now intending to sue New Line Cinema due to lack of profit. They claim that, even though the Lord of the Rings trilogy made nearly $6 billion altogether, they have not seen a penny of what New Line apparently owes them. They've tried to settle these desputes outside of court (which is why we have yet to hear of it until now) and will be filing a lawsuit against New Line.

According to the Tolkien Estate, New Line owes them a nice, rounded $150 million. (Basically the cost of one LOTR film.) Whether or not this affects the production of "The Hobbit" is yet to be determined.

Next up is 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers has been adapting a film based on the graphic novel "Watchmen," a movie I've not covered much lately because WB found it best to throw out an amazing script by David Hayter. That's another story though. Fox is sueing WB, claiming that they hold rights to produce and distribute a movie based on "Watchman."

WB plans to release the movie in 2009, but Fox hopes to bring an end to the production and protect its own rights to make the film. It looks like WB won't be pushing forward with the project just yet.

Well that's peachy. The New Line thing is annoying because it seems they just don't like paying people: Peter Jackson, the Tolkien Estate. Though I'm skeptical of the Fox vs. WB saga. The "Watchman" movie has been announced and ready for awhile and Fox just now gets around to sueing them? How does WB overlook a thing like this? Why did it take Fox so long to come out and piss on WB's plans?