The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Lawsuit by Tolkien Estate may halt The Hobbit

PrinceOfTheHalflings · 08-09-2009, 05:06 AM

Try this article instead:

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/hea..._of_film_cash/

No talk of CT being a recluse and also a picture of Priscilla. Priscilla is quoted as saying they don't want to shut the film down but do want to take it away from New Line.

To address an earlier point - how much control a writer has over a film - it all depends on what is negotiated when the film rights are sold. If you think a writer can't control a film then you haven't met Michael Crichton!

If the Estate does get the film rights back then they ARE in a position to dictate terms. Something to bear in mind is that in many cases nowadays film rights are not sold permanently - instead they have a "use it or lose it" clause. In other words, what is sold is not the right to make a film "some time in the future", but rather an "option" to make a film during a specified timeframe (often as little as 18 months). If production of the film does not begin within that timeframe then the rights revert to the author who is then free to negotiate a new movie deal. Obviously this wasn't the kind of deal that Tolkien signed, but if the rights revert back to the Estate then it would be in their interest to do this kind of deal in future.

This is good sense, as over 90% of movies never make it from the concept stage to actual production.

I know of several novels - for example, Arthur C. Clarke's "A Fall of Moondust" - where the film rights have been sold many times, but the films are never made and so the author in effect gets money for nothing, over and over.

New Line have been sued before in relation to the Lord of the Rings and lost both times. Once to Peter Jackson, and once to Saul Zaentz who owned the LOTR rights before New Line acquired them.

There is also a possibility that, even if the Estate wins, the judge may decide that the rights to LOTR and The Hobbit are two separate things (even though they were sold as a package) and rule that only the LOTR rights revert to the Estate - not The Hobbit rights. Also, the Estate might win but only receive financial compensation.

08-09-2009, 05:06 AM	#12
PrinceOfTheHalflings Wight Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 120	Try this article instead: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/hea..._of_film_cash/ No talk of CT being a recluse and also a picture of Priscilla. Priscilla is quoted as saying they don't want to shut the film down but do want to take it away from New Line. To address an earlier point - how much control a writer has over a film - it all depends on what is negotiated when the film rights are sold. If you think a writer can't control a film then you haven't met Michael Crichton! If the Estate does get the film rights back then they ARE in a position to dictate terms. Something to bear in mind is that in many cases nowadays film rights are not sold permanently - instead they have a "use it or lose it" clause. In other words, what is sold is not the right to make a film "some time in the future", but rather an "option" to make a film during a specified timeframe (often as little as 18 months). If production of the film does not begin within that timeframe then the rights revert to the author who is then free to negotiate a new movie deal. Obviously this wasn't the kind of deal that Tolkien signed, but if the rights revert back to the Estate then it would be in their interest to do this kind of deal in future. This is good sense, as over 90% of movies never make it from the concept stage to actual production. I know of several novels - for example, Arthur C. Clarke's "A Fall of Moondust" - where the film rights have been sold many times, but the films are never made and so the author in effect gets money for nothing, over and over. New Line have been sued before in relation to the Lord of the Rings and lost both times. Once to Peter Jackson, and once to Saul Zaentz who owned the LOTR rights before New Line acquired them. There is also a possibility that, even if the Estate wins, the judge may decide that the rights to LOTR and The Hobbit are two separate things (even though they were sold as a package) and rule that only the LOTR rights revert to the Estate - not The Hobbit rights. Also, the Estate might win but only receive financial compensation. Last edited by PrinceOfTheHalflings; 08-09-2009 at 05:47 AM.