New Line Cinema Corporation, which produced the blockbuster trilogy Lord of the Rings, was sued on Monday by the charitable trust of the series creator, J.R.R. Tolkien, reports the Los Angeles Times.
New Line was accused of cheating the trust out of at least $150-million. It has been sued by the British charity and HarperCollins publishers. In its complaint, the Tolkien Trust said that, according to a 1969 contract with the studio that held the original rights to the fantasy series, the trust and other beneficiaries were owed 7.5 percent of gross receipts, minus certain film-related expenses. The lawsuit says that the Lord of the Rings movies have attracted $6-billion in revenue worldwide.
New Line Cinema declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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