News for Jun. 01, 2007
New Line founder Bob Shaye shows no signs of yielding in the company's legal squabble with
Peter Jackson over profits from "The Lord of the Rings." In a conversation at AmPav on Tuesday with Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart, Shaye said the company had already paid Jackson and his wife, Fran Walsh, $250 million in profit participation. The clash happened because "one of us has gotten poor counsel," Shaye said, without elaborating. Co-chief Michael Lynne struck a more upbeat note. "We do want to settle our dispute and I think we will." A "Hobbit" pic is still in the plans, both execs were coy about reports that Sam Raimi is being lined up to direct. "There's never been any announcement," Lynne said. "Like a lot of people, he might," Shaye added. [
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