We need a revolution

If New Line did try to fuck them, then that was silly.

Fox, on the other hand are despicable bastards- it seems like what they want is WB to just pay them to fuck off, so they can cash the cheque and giggle at the creative efforts of others.

Wankers.

Risk=bad.

Hey Fox, why not wait until Watchmen is on DVD before going after them? You've got plenty of time. Let's hope fox doesn't shut down this post the dirty...

They must have some motive to wait this long!

The horrible little homonculous is just stretching on his favourite elf costums (It's getting a bit tight now, best cut back on the donuts), cracking his knuckles and logging on.

"No hobbbit, yes, I'm so excited, yes, I prayed to the gods of middle earth, yes, fuck new line, SPLOOOOOOEEUUUUUUURGH"

Do you think Ringy9 would spontaneously combust if PJ actually DID announce he was directing? Or would it give him a new jihad to sustain himself?

Maybe folks are just saving their energy for the big Indy trailer talkback which will shortly be upon us?

But not before subjecting talkback to months of meticulous, inane and seriously disturbed drivel.

Next up: the color of the sunsets in KING KONG!

FOX gotta eat.

http://tinyurl.com/2t7f hl

Certainly they must have known for a long time this film was in production. They may levy all those claims, but they must know it's only in hopes of increasing their chances at getting SOMETHING financials out of WB's Watchmen production.

If it was purely driven by their potential loss of revenue from WB making this film without the proper rights, they would have filed this suit when production started. Surely, they've been around long enough to know that at this late stage, it's probably worth their time to take the gamble on suing and getting some kind of financial settlement than fighting a big battle up front, possibly winning, then having to put up money to make the movie themselves - which risked being not successful at the box office.

But it does add a wrinkle to the case.

Anyway, my guess is that probably both, and undoubtedly at least the Tolkien Estates, knew of the document you mention (if it exists--I dunno), but the thing is, the more money at stake, the less relevant any single document is, for a variety of reasons. One, if there's a lot of money, that means that there are probably *lots* of agreements, because the scale of the enterprise is bigger. Multiple and possibly conflicting agreements need to be sorted out to determine which one governs, and both sides will have their own respective positions. For example, New Line might have the position/understanding that some agreement adverse to them was superseded by a later agreement (or rendered ultra vires by a previous agreement).

Two, where there is more money at stake, there is more at play to pay the lawyers. Which may sound like a cynical thing to say, but it isn't necessarily. Say you and your friend get in a disagreement about $5. You aren't going to hire legal counsel to suss out exactly who owes who what, because it's just $5 and because you want to preserve the larger, more valuable relationship (your friendship). However, if corporate entities A and B get in a fight over a half-billion dollars, there is a huge budget available to hire lawyers to explore every single argument (and there are tons) as to why or why not some set of contracts is valid or not, so all those issues become prominent.

My guess is that, here, they settle, for an undisclosed amount, and the move gets made. This probably isn't even delaying things, production-wise, because the different wings of New Line (business and creative) each know darn well that the money people will work out the bumps so that the creative people can make a lucrative product.

Of course, the fact that one side in all of this is a trust headed by Tolkien's kids makes this a more interesting game, as they have interests in addition to money: this is their family name and their father's legacy that is at stake. So they might not want to act economically rationally, and may instead be seeking something above and beyond money.

DocPaz & MNG - snotsnorting good posts!

Tra-la-lolly, for a fin I'll touch your trolly!

Can anyone fill me in?

So, were you pleased, overall, with LotR the movie?

Or buttfuck Sack Znyder more.

Whichever.

All you fucks who think 300 was a great movie are the same fucks responsible for encouraging Hollywood to lower the fucking bar to the point where some halfwit shit-monkey like this can not only thrive but prosper as well.

A FAT FUCKING POX ON YOU ALL!

I'd rather see WATCHMEN go unfilmed for all time, than be reduced to a "slick looking" but generally unsatisfying popcorn flick.

BTW, Frank Miller ain't the "be all, end all" of comics & 300 wasn't even his best work.

Put THAT in your mouth & suck on it.

However, THE HOBBIT news sucks - mainly because I'd like to see Del Toro get in on that fattened cash-cow of a franchise with as little difficulty as possible, and I can't yet fathom how the fuck New Line thought they'd get away without honoring contractual obligations pertaining to what has to be one of their most successful properties. Fucking stupid.

Good summary. WB's rebuttal is weak because FOX can point to the trail of failed Watchmen productions as to why they waited until now to file. It's going to be easy to show that no one believed this flick was ever going to be made until the last frame was shot, and that FOX presumed the rights would eventually revert back to them.

I don't think WB was aware of Gordon's outstanding deal because it would have been logical for them to bring FOX in as financial co-producer since it's a one-shot and not a franchise.

IMO, it looks like an attempt to shore up the bottom line due to the strike. Projections are going to be off for every studio.

What you got in the Fellowship prelude was the portion of the story (very breifly) that told how the Ring was found (Chance, or was he meant to find it?) by Bilbo. When Tolkien wrote the Hobbit, it was not the major thrust...that only came with the sequel, LotR. In fact, the first edition saw Gollum willingly giving the Ring to Bilbo after he won the Riddle Game. Tolkien revised the Hobbit to mesh more closely with LoTR. Both of which are only the closing chapters of that great backstory, the Silmarillion.