New Line fined in 'Lord of the Rings' court battle

[WriteSimply]

From L.A. Times:

Originally Posted by John Horn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 22, 2007
Peter Jackson has scored a legal victory in his battle with New Line Cinema over the accounting of "The Lord of the Rings," with a federal magistrate hitting the studio with $125,000 in sanctions for failing to produce potential evidence.

Jackson is suing New Line, contending that he had not received a fair and proper accounting of the first "Lord of the Rings" film's income, including DVD sales and foreign receipts. All told, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy sold about $3 billion of movie tickets worldwide.

The lawsuit does not specify monetary damages but is believed potentially to include tens of millions of dollars for Jackson. The lawsuit has driven a wedge between Jackson and New Line and delayed development of a contemplated New Line-MGM movie based on "The Hobbit," a related novel written by "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Lawyers for Jackson and New Line did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

I hope the outcome hasn't soured their relationships to make The Hobbit.


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