Tolkien Estates Transition: Christopher Tolkien Resigns as Director

[Snowdog]

I've been reading some of the original rights contract and its various extensions, and there is a clause in there about TV rights being implemented 5 years after the last original motion picture. As it's 4 years since the Hobbit, it fits. These original rights are held by Middle Earth Enterprises, Saul Zaentz's estate, and the royalties are negotiated with the Tolkien Estate per the original rights contract to UA. It was this part that caused such a stink between the Tolkien Estate, New Line, WETA, Peter Jackson, and Middle Earth Enterprises in the recent settled lawsuit. It is a tangled mess, but I'm sure the rights to Christopher Tolkien's works are still off the table for this latest Amazon venture. I hope for the best, and expect the worst.