V - thank you for the excellent article updating the lawsuit wars.
Since you seem to feel that Zaentz and company just may prevail - at least on the online gaming issue - let me ask you this........ what are the rough guesstimate odds that Zaentz will also prevail on this amusement park idea.
I just turned 64 and want to know how well I need to take care of myself if I want to ride that Moria falling staircase ride.
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.... John Rogers
sf, the short answer is I don't know. The amusement park issue is not directly raised in the case, but I would say that it is more closely aligned with the slot machines than with the online games. Zaentz has long indicated that he believes that he owns the rights to that sort of thing (since he included a separate agreement when he licensed the film rights making clear that he was keeping the amusement park rights, but equally is clear from that statement from Cathleen Blackburn that I quoted that the Estate believes the opposite. It may well require separate litigation, although if Zaentz and WB prevail on the slot machines I would say that they are in good shape for the amusement part, and vice versa (e.g., if they lose on the slot machines, they would likely lose on the amusement park).
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.... John Rogers
An update on the status of the lawsuit. Fourth Age (the entity representing the Tolkien Estate) has appealed the court's decision to deny its special motion to strike the defendants' counter-claims against it to the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeal, which has previously ruled that the denial of such a motion can be appealed prior to a final judgment in the underlying case. The result of this is that the underlying case will now be put on hold while the appeal winds its way through the process, which is likely to take at least a year.
Interestingly, while each previous step of the lawsuit has been widely reported, I haven't seen any media reports of the appeal (which was filed last month) at all.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
I'll put this here, rather than start a new thread for it. My piece for TORN about the Weinstein lawsuit got published there on Sunday, but I didn't realize it. Here it is if anyone is interested:
Edited to add: Ironically, Saul Zaentz passed away the day that this was published.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Voronwë the Faithful wrote:I'll put this here, rather than start a new thread for it. My piece for TORN about the Weinstein lawsuit got published there on Sunday, but I didn't realize it. Here it is if anyone is interested:
Edited to add: Ironically, Saul Zaentz passed away the day that this was published.
Thank you for that NOT A CHANCE essay V. I just read it on theonering.net and thought you did a great job at explaining it all and how the original speculation was much ado about nothing in terms of killing the third film.
btw- anybody know the ins and outs of the name change for the third Hobbit film? I thought it was going to be BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES but over the last few weeks that seems to be replaced by THERE AND BACK AGAIN.
Anyone have the details on that?
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.... John Rogers
Not sure why you thought that; it has been There and Back Again from the beginning, even when there was only two films.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Voronwë the Faithful wrote:Not sure why you thought that; it has been There and Back Again from the beginning, even when there was only two films.
Old age is a terrible ravisher.
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.... John Rogers
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Not surprisingly, the Weinsteins have lost their arbitration in their quest to get paid for more than one Hobbit film, even though their contract says that they only get paid for one Hobbit film.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
So Ruth Bader Ginsburg will never get to weigh in?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
HOWEVER, in distantly related news, when I was in Las Vegas a week or so ago for the Vegas Valley Book Festival, I saw for the first time the LOTR slot machines mentioned earlier in this thread, and my jaw basically dropped to the floor. WHAT??? What will they think up next (I thought): Make Way For Ducklings slot machines? Phantom Tollbooth slot machines?
I mean, really. Middle Earth & Vegas!!! That's just . . . just . . . just . . . *sputters*
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” E. B. White, who must have had vison in mind. There's a reason why we kept putting the extra i in her name in our minds!
Cabinet of Earths slot machines? Hidden Worlds slot machines?
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"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
There has been LOTR slot machines in Vegas for at least four years, if not more. I play them occasionally. Last time I played at the Aria I came out ahead nearly $300.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Yes. The article I read about it, on Gizmodo, concluded that the chances of further Tolkien moves being made have now gone from "a snowball's chance in Hell to a snowman's chance in Hell."
There's probably a better article, but this was the one I came across on Twitter.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
That's not what it says. What it says that the chances of a Silmarillion film went from "a snowball's chance in Hell to a snowman's chance in Hell," not the chances of further Middle-earth films. I concur with that assessment. However, I think the chances of there being further Middle-earth films, based roughly on the LOTR appendices, or even largely completely made up but allegedly set in Middle-earth, is rather high, and has increased as a result of this settlement.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
