Guillermo del Toro On The Original Cast And That Law Suit
Empire caught up today with Guillermo del Toro and asked him for an update on the current situation with The Hobbit. Many sites have been reporting that his deal to direct is signed and sealed and just waiting for an end to the writers’ strike before it’s announced. But that’s not so, he says.
“I wish it was definite, but it isn’t,” he told us. “It’s still in talks, there are still a lot of ‘T’s to cross and ‘I’s to dot. It’s certainly not certain yet…But, as far as I’m concerned, [if it was definite] I would be packed in ten seconds”.
He’s not worried at this time about the lawsuit that was revealed earlier this week.
“I heard that, but I’m quite zen about those things,” Del Toro continued. “Since that news broke, I have not exchanged a single phone call with my lawyer or my manager or anyone. They talk about it and I have received some emails, but, as far as I’m concerned, until I’m on board I should not worry about it. I read about it, but there’s nothing I can do about it. This week seems to be the lawsuit week in Hollywood”.
He would love to bring back actors from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy whose characters appear in the new films:
“I’ve been pretty much incredibly open about the things that I love and don’t love in the past. I’ve turned down huge franchises in the past because there are parts of that world I don’t gel with. The reason I took Blade 2 is because I love the characters that Stephen Norrington created and the actors he used. That times ten is the reason why I’m interested in The Hobbit”
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Tolkien Estate Sues New Line Cinema
The estate of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn’t paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.
The suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien’s estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.
The writer’s estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original “Lord of the Rings” publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles Superior Court. If successful, it could block the long-awaited prequel to the films.
Robert Pini, a spokesman for Time Warner Inc.’s New Line, declined to comment.
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