Variety reports the Tolkien Trust (a British charity that manages the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien) and publisher HarperCollins brought a $150 million lawsuit against New Line Cinema on Monday, claiming the trust has not received any of its gross profit participation payments for the three films based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The suit was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Meanwhile, more legal action unfurled as 20th Century Fox announced it was suing Warner Bros. over the rights to produce and distribute a film based on the DC Comics property Watchmen.
ICV2 reports Zack Snyder is currently shooting the Watchmen film for Warners in Vancouver with a March 6th 2009 release date planned, but Fox’s suit seeks an injunction to stop production until the rights dispute is cleared up.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics - Books, Film
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