Or no Hobbits at all...

[davem]

Originally Posted by Child of the 7th Age

Also, any litigation will be tremendously complicated because there are so many contractual agreements to consider: (1) the literary-rights agreement made in 1969 with United Artists (2) the agreement made in 1976 which sold the rights to Zaentz (3) the agreement of 1997 that licensed them to Miramax, AND, (4) the final agreement in 1998 that licensed them to New Line

Well, New Line made an initial payment to the Estate of $62,500 so they must have been working to one of those agreements - unless they just picked that figure out of thin air. It would seem from the case brought by the Estate/Harper Collins that the agreement it is based on is the original. I don't think its legal to change the rights of one party to an agreement if the other party sells its rights on. Tolkien, & by extension the Estate, has the rights he signed up for, & is due the money. The idea that all that money could be made from the movies & yet, because contracts are sold on/leased out, he doesn't get what the contract said he should get is at best ridiculous & at worst dangerous - wouldn't it mean that any writer who signs a similar film deal could end up in the same position - its a perfect way for a studio to get the rights to any work virtually for free.

Sorry, but if New Line can get away with paying nothing to the Estate because of the way their movies are distributed then its no different to people illegally downloading movies or music in order to avoid paying for it. The idea that NLC could make so much money out of Tolkien's lifetime work & avoid paying anything for it because of this kind of 'creative accounting/distribution' is sickening, & I'm sorry, but if they get away with it then no-one who calls themselves a Tolkien fan should have anything to do with their movies or merchandising, & anyone who goes to see the Hobbit movie or its sequel should be ashamed of themselves. Ripping off Jackson or Zaentz is one thing, ripping off JRR Tolkien, & the CHARITY that operates in his name is another.

Of course, if anyone felt inclined to download them illegally.......