We Saved Gondor. Now Pay Us

There is unrest in Middle-earth. Lord of the Rings filmmaker PETER JACKSON has sued New Line Cinema (a unit of Time Warner, TIME’s parent) for breach of contract, alleging the studio mishandled home-video sales, video games and merchandising for The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of the LOTR trilogy, which grossed nearly $3 billion. New Line declined to comment on pending litigation, but Jackson’s complaint isn’t the first. In 2003, 18 LOTR actors reportedly banded together and demanded better pay. (They got a bonus.) Actor Sean Astin still grumbled later that he made a measly $250,000 for all three films. Producer Saul Zaentz filed a suit last August claiming he was underpaid $20 million. Do we hear the rumblings of another Lord of the Rings battle scene?