The Hobbit Clears Major Legal Hurdle

A few months ago it was leaked that the Tolkien estate was sueing Time Warner for $220 million in revenue they felt they deserved from the profits of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This has been the norm for the successful franchise as apparently New Line engaged in a lot of shady accounting practices to avoid payouts.

As expected, rather than reveal their tactics and also to move ahead with two films that are likely going to be top earners for the year, Time Warner has settled the suit with the Tolkien Trust, and HarperCollins Publishers Limited. The exact details of the settlement are not known but AICN indicates they got the full $220 million they were asking for. This clears any last legal hurdles and will now allow the Hobbit films to move forward without fear of lawyers preventing the film's release.