Tolkien Trust vs. New Line roundup
Aug. 22nd, 2008 07:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ourdramaqueenGood morning everyone. "The Frodo Franchise" author Kristin Thompson has posted a long - LONG - overview of the developments in the Tolkien Trust vs. New Line lawsuit since May. What is interesting is that for the first time, the language of the two contracts that govern the film rights is available. I found it quite surprising how far reaching the rights granted to the Purchasers are, regarding changes to Tolkien's material!
I'm only posting the bit about the August developments and what's probably happening next below. You can read the full post, including some speculation on what the language of the contracts might mean for filming of The Hobbit and Film 2, at the link:
http://www.kristinthompson.net/blog/?p=338
The Tolkien Trust lawsuit: Developments since May
[...]
August
August 4 saw a batch of documents filed by New Line, starting with its Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint. Again the main argument is that the new support provided for a fraud accusation is inadequate. The date set for the meeting at which the judge will decide whether to sustain this Demurrer is September 22—which, as many have noted, happens to be Bilbo and Frodo’s mutual birthday.
Both sides may take the next month to do some discovery while waiting for the meeting. It is possible that the material that comes out of the discovery would lead New Line to request summary judgment. That is, there might be no mystery or disagreement about who did what when, but only whether those actions breached the law. That decision would lie with a judge, not a jury, and her decision could be made without the case going to court.
Another document, a “Request for Judicial Notice in support of Demurrer & Declarations of Eric P. Tuttle and Angela Clare in Support thereof,” contains two exhibits, A and B: the two original July 8, 1969 contracts that sold the production and distribution rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists. These documents have never been available to the public before, so this filing was a major development for those of us interested in this particular case and in the more general history of the film rights to Tolkien’s novels.
Why do the contracts show up in this particular document? The introductory portion states, “Where plaintiffs reference and rely upon a contract in their complaint without attaching it, a defendant is entitled on demurrer to present the court with the complete document.” The “Request for Judicial Notice” simply asks that the court consider the actual language of the contracts. New Line is not at this point offering its own interpretation of that language.
[...]
I'm only posting the bit about the August developments and what's probably happening next below. You can read the full post, including some speculation on what the language of the contracts might mean for filming of The Hobbit and Film 2, at the link:
http://www.kristinthompson.net/blog/?p=338
The Tolkien Trust lawsuit: Developments since May
[...]
August
August 4 saw a batch of documents filed by New Line, starting with its Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint. Again the main argument is that the new support provided for a fraud accusation is inadequate. The date set for the meeting at which the judge will decide whether to sustain this Demurrer is September 22—which, as many have noted, happens to be Bilbo and Frodo’s mutual birthday.
Both sides may take the next month to do some discovery while waiting for the meeting. It is possible that the material that comes out of the discovery would lead New Line to request summary judgment. That is, there might be no mystery or disagreement about who did what when, but only whether those actions breached the law. That decision would lie with a judge, not a jury, and her decision could be made without the case going to court.
Another document, a “Request for Judicial Notice in support of Demurrer & Declarations of Eric P. Tuttle and Angela Clare in Support thereof,” contains two exhibits, A and B: the two original July 8, 1969 contracts that sold the production and distribution rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists. These documents have never been available to the public before, so this filing was a major development for those of us interested in this particular case and in the more general history of the film rights to Tolkien’s novels.
Why do the contracts show up in this particular document? The introductory portion states, “Where plaintiffs reference and rely upon a contract in their complaint without attaching it, a defendant is entitled on demurrer to present the court with the complete document.” The “Request for Judicial Notice” simply asks that the court consider the actual language of the contracts. New Line is not at this point offering its own interpretation of that language.
[...]
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Date: 2008-08-22 03:51 pm (UTC)