Who owns lord of the rings movies

But when it comes to very famous works, things get more complicated, especially when the author is not alive, but nor have the works passed into the public domain yet. It all seemed quite simple when The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were being adapted, but Amazon's Lord of the Rings and the recent announcement of a Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim anime invite the question of copyright again — all the more so since it's more or less known that The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, for instance, can't be adapted.

The Tolkien Estate — the legal body that manages the property of J. Tolkien — retains the rights to any work by the author that was collected, edited, and published posthumously by his son, Christopher Tolkien, and unless they choose to sell said rights, there is not going to be a Silmarillion films or tv show anytime soon.

This is because J. Tolkien himself sold film and other rights of these books to United Artists, who, in their turn, sold them to Saul Zeantz. From there on, things get a little complicated, if we are to understand who has the right to produce what based on Tolkien's works. We use cookies to provide you with a better experience on this site. Keep browsing if you're happy with this.

We also use cookies to show you the best of New Zealand on other platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to understand how you can manage cookies. About The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Visit the enchanting world of Hobbiton, Waikato. By Ian Brodie. The films are based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J.

Mt Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu. By Haka Tours. Hobbiton, Waikato. By Sara Orme.