New LOTR Lawsuit Filed (6/19/07):

Fifteen supporting actors in the Lord of the Rings movies have filed a joint action lawsuit against movie studio New Line over profits from merchandising sales from the movie. Spin-off products such as mugs, action figures, and T-shirts featuring the characters from the three films produced approximately $100 million in profits. The actors had a contract that they would jointly receive 5% of this merchandising revenue, to be split among them. They accuse New Line of taking distribution and gross participation fees from the profits to which the studio was not contractually entitled, fees that ate up the profits so that no money went to the actors.

New Line had recently settled a lawsuit filed by LOTR producer Saul Zaentz for an undisclosed sum. The director of the films, Peter Jackson, has an on-going lawsuit against New Line regarding profits for the first LOTR movie, "The Fellowship of the Ring." Because of the legal dispute, Jackson and New Line agreed that Jackson would not be directing the live action film of J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit," for which New Line holds the film rights.