'Lord,' These Lawsuits Are Becoming a Hobbit

Somebody wake up New Line Cinema when this ongoing nightmare starring furry-footed hobbits and revenue-disputing lawyers is over. On Feb. 11, less than two months after the studio settled its legal battle with Peter Jackson over royalties and announced the filmmaker would be exec-producing two Hobbit movies, the estate of The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien slapped the company with another lawsuit. According to the complaint, New Line relied on ''accounting chicanery'' and has failed to pay the estate ''a single penny'' of its contractual 7.5 percent of gross receipts from the stated $6 billion-grossing LOTR trilogy. (New Line had no comment.) The suit seeks more than $150 million in damages, as well as a court order to terminate the studio's rights to Tolkien's oeuvre. Yep, Tolkien's heirs want to shut down The Hobbit before it even begins. Where's Bilbo Baggins' magic ring when you need it? If only he could make this all disappear.