Message board member Voronwe the Faithful has come through for us once again. He’s the first to report on the results of hearing on New Line’s Demurrer and Motion to Strike, held on June 24.
“Well, it looks like my take on the demurrer that New Line filed in the case filed against it by the Tolkien family and publisher was pretty darn accurate. The court sustained the demurrer with leave to amend within 20 days. The court explicitly held that the allegations in the Complaint support nothing more than a breach of contract cause of action. Assuming that the plaintiffs are unable to satisfactorily amend the complaint to assert new allegations that support the fraud and/or breach of fiduciary duty causes of action (a virtual impossibility), those causes of action are out, and New Line is protected from the possibility of an award of punitive damages.”
If you missed it, be sure to read the article Voronwe shared with us on Clearing up Misconceptions Regarding the Tolkien vs. New Line Lawsuit. And, as always, if you have opinions or concerns to share on the topic, be sure and check out the discussion underway on our message boards.
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Variety is reporting on New Line’s present and near future status, clearing up several things that have been said in the past several months:
“There’s no mandate to make a particular kind of movie,” Horn states. “We’re not going to wind up bidding against each other across the table. And New Line will not just be doing genre, since that’s a space filled pretty well by Lionsgate, Screen Gems and Dark Castle […] There’s no budget number required. They’ll be doing about six per year, though the number may go from four to seven; it’s not going to be 10.
The article also touches an aspect many have wondered about in our forums:
There are also the two “Hobbit” films and a possible sequel to “The Golden Compass”. The question is how much Warner Bros. will get involved in those tentpoles.
We will just have to wait and see! [Variety]
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Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne
From deadlinehollywooddaily.com So the two New Line founders bounced from their studio by Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes are finally getting closer to starting their own company. I hear Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are setting up offices on the 9th floor of their old building on Robertson Blvd in Los Angeles. Tipsters tell me that the L.A. head of production is probably Mark Kaufman, responsible for such memorable un-hits as The Man, Martian Child, Codename: Cleaner, Secondhand Lions, but also one legitimate moneymaker, Hairspray. Ever since Shaye and Lynne found out they were being fired (which I reported exclusively back in January), the pair have been talking about this setting up of a production entity fueled by some projects from New Line development that they could make for their ex-underling Toby Emmerich and that would go through Warner Bros. Also, I hear Warner Bros may give them some films to produce and develop. Bob Shaye & Michael Lynne Set Shingle
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glumPuddle sends this along: Narnia Producer Mark Johnson is asked why they didn’t do multiple films at once, like LOTR. He says: ‘What New Line and Bob Shea did with Lord of the Rings, basically green-lighting three movies at once, is unheard of. And in todays Hollywood, it will never happen again. I just cannot imagine it. Its too much of a financial commitment, and everybody will say, Lets just see if the first ones successful first.’ Narnia Producer Doubts Any Studio will ‘Triple-Produce’ Anymore
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From TimesOnline.com: “Christopher Tolkien, 83, is calling for “one last crusade” in a long-running court battle against the producers of The Lord of the Rings only weeks before carpenters are due to begin work in New Zealand on the sets for the latest Middle-earth epic.” Read more (Thanks to Ringer Spy J for the link)
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Diedye from our message boards sends this along. Mary Parent was recently quoted about MGM’s upcoming slate.
“For MGM, among those is a continuation of Bond and Pink Panther sequels, an announced remake of “Fame” and a not-yet-announced remake of “RoboCop,” possibly in 3-D. “‘RoboCop” would be great in 3-D, as would something we’re hoping to announce soon,” said Parent. This also includes “The Hobbit,” which will be filmed in two parts released in 2011 and 2012, and maybe more after. “There’s 80 years between the end of ‘The Hobbit’ and the beginning of ‘The Lord of the Rings,'” said Sloan. “Think of the franchise.” One other idea MGM was toying with was more “Rocky” films. Parent asked for a show of hands from the audience who might be in to that. Though there were a few very enthusiastic responses, many kept quiet.”
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