Tolkien Settlement

A settlement has been reached between the heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien and Warner Brothers. The trustees of Tolkien's Estate sued Warner's New Line Cinema movie studio over who owns the rights to the late author's work, claiming the studio failed to pay what had been agreed. The settlement allows filming of The Hobbit to go forward. It's a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Shooting begins next year. The first films in the series made about $2.9 billion worldwide. The third installment The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2004.