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Tolkien's heirs approve Hobbit film after secret settlement

Sep 9, 2009, 9:51 GMT

Los Angeles - Filming of a movie version of the JRR Tolkien classic The Hobbit is to go ahead after New Line Cinema settled a 150-million-dollar lawsuit by the author's heirs, according to a statement Tuesday. The lawsuit had claimed that the Hollywood film studios cheated the family out of a huge share of the profits from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which grossed an estimated 6 billion dollars from tickets, DVDs and merchandise, while piling up 11 Oscars. Under the terms of the legal settlement, Tolkien's estate dropped its objections to the filming of The Hobbit - a prequel to the Lord of the Rings, in which Bilbo Baggins finds the ring that is at the centre of those tales. Financial terms of the settlement remained secret. 'We deeply value the contributions of the Tolkien novels to the success of our films and are pleased to have put this litigation behind us,' said Alan Horn, chief executive of Warner Bros, which owns New Line Cinema. The Hobbit will be made into two films, with the first planned for release in 2011. The director will be Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), and the producer is Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien's son, Christopher, said the main beneficiary of the settlement would be the Tolkien Trust, a British foundation established by the estate that supports charities around the world. 'The trustees regret that legal action was necessary but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives,' he said. 'The trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of The Hobbit.'

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