The Tolkien family sit down and start singing about gold.
'There may come a day when Hobbits promote slot machines ...'
Just weeks before The Hobbit hits the big screen, the family of author JRR Tolkien is once again suing the film's producers. The Hobbit Bilbo poster The Tolkien estate and the book's publisher Harper Collins claim Warner Bros, its subsidiary New Line and Hobbit rights-holder Saul Zaentz Company are overstepping their bounds …
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Thursday 22nd November 2012 15:38 GMT JDX
@dogged
No I do not have him confused with Lewis. The two were friends; Lewis preferred to be overt with his use of Christian message in stories (it's pretty blatant) but to say Christian themes are not commonplace in LOTR simply shows your ignorance of either LOTR, Christianity, or both.
As a Christian and LOTR fan you'll have to take my word for that :)
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Thursday 22nd November 2012 17:49 GMT dogged
Re: @dogged
It's been a while but while Eru is the One Creator the, er... what was the collective noun? Melkor/Morgoth and his brothers and sisters, friends and enemies - are pretty firmly analogous to the Aesir or the Greek gods. Not very Christian.
"Good defeats evil" is hardly limited to the cross-botherers.
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Wednesday 21st November 2012 13:34 GMT Anonymous Coward
Natural support with estate?
Since there must be a legion of aficionados of the books that are prepared to pick holes in the most innocuous element of dramatic adaption for the purposes of bringing it to the silver screen.
And I suspect many of them will be vociferous in their opinion. While secretly coveting a soon-to-be-rare Bildo one-armed bandit.
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Wednesday 21st November 2012 13:58 GMT Haku
Re: Natural support with estate?
This tune might help you remember his name - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGF5ROpjRAU
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Wednesday 21st November 2012 14:12 GMT Steve Button
cynical?
... but this has got The Reg and other news outlets talking about the film a few weeks before the release. Could the film producers have deliberately provoked this action, to drum up the publicity?
Still, I can't wait to see it. :-) Can't imagine how they will stretch such a short story to 3 films?
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Wednesday 21st November 2012 19:01 GMT Anonymous Coward
Outraged Tolkien's devoted fan base?
the estate objects to using Tolkienian names in the world of gambling, which it says "has outraged Tolkien's devoted fan base, causing irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy and reputation and the valuable goodwill generated by his works
This member of "Tolkien's devoted fanbase" doesn't give a toss about it.
However, if they asked me what I thought of the use of "Tolkienian names" in Microsoft advertising material, I'd have to say that I am outraged, and that it causes irreparable harm etc etc etc
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Thursday 22nd November 2012 05:00 GMT cortland
Minus dots
There's an interesting book parody of The Hobbit called The "Soddit," Interestingly, that word can derived from the trademarked one by converting the H and the B's into Morse Code, removing from each precisely one "dot" and translating back.
. . . . - - - - . . . - . . . . . - to . . . - - - - . . - . . . . -
If you can't "Hobbit"(tm), soddit!
FWIW, the "author" is one "A.R.R.R. Roberts."
A is a Morse code J with two "dashes" removed. Dashed good fun,what?
Add a "G" at the end of the initials there to approximate what the family must be saying.
http://www.orbitbooks.net/2012/09/18/the-soddit-if-we-likess-it-then-we-putss-a-ring-on-it/
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Thursday 22nd November 2012 07:24 GMT Voland's right hand
Re: Minus dots
That book has now been removed from orbit. Not surprising - they can expect a lawsuit. Same as the author of the "Last Ringbearer".
Frankly, the Tolkien family is overstepping the line by far here. It is a venerable tradition to build on other people's works in world literature. Examples - Christopher Priest and "Space Machine" vs Wells and "Time Machine", Volkov's Emerald City series vs "The Wizard of Oz", etc. If we go further back in time we have Decameron & Canterbury Tales vs Aesop's fables.
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Thursday 22nd November 2012 08:47 GMT Dave Bell
An Old Problem
It was Professor Tolkien himself who sold the film rights, a few years before he died. A great many things have been licensed by the rights holders over the years. A great many new sorts of goods have also appeared.
Media companies in the USA, not just Hollywood types, have been trying to stretch old contracts to include new sorts of goods for many years. Nobody dreamed of eBooks when The Hobbit was published, before WW2.
Copyright lawyers struggled with computer software. I think part of what we are seeing now is the shift from the physical to the virtual. We used to have a stack of floppy disks, or a cassette tape. Then came the CD and DVD. Now we get a new game by logging into Steam. Within the computer business, we've coped with that change.
You'd have to read the Tolkien contract, though I have heard it said that the definitions are unusually broad, and have sometimes made it difficult for the print publishers, because they were not sure that they could produce some publicity items for the books. This was a long time ago, and there were no big arguments, but somebody had to sign something. If what I heard was correct, those slot machines might be legitimate. Some of the other issues might be decided the other way.
Just as in patents, some of the claims in a court filing are a stretch that will not stand up to challenge.
When the Middle Earth Role-Playing Game appeared, it was licensed via the Saul Zaentz operation, but the publishers checked. They obviously were a sort of book, and new stories, and such. I expect a deal was done, but it wasn't a big money thing. And the MERP products were done well.
Now we're talking about huge amounts of money, and both sides are playing a rough game. Besides, you know the reputation of Hollywood lawyers and accountants. The Tolkien Estate and their publishers are one of the few I can think of who have the resources to fight this sort of case. And, if the rights-stretch is part of the issue, will it ever get decided by a court? I don't think Hollywood can afford to have the judge decide against them on that.
[Insert favourite warning of the rise of a Dark Lord]
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Thursday 22nd November 2012 08:50 GMT Anonymous Coward
"gambling merchandise and online slot machines, hotels, restaurants,
"housing developments and all manner of other stuff."
You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
