Actors sue New Line over 'Rings' profits

June 07, 2007 Fifteen actors from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy are suing New Line Cinema for breach of contract, claiming the company hasn't paid them their percentage of an estimated $100 million in profits from the sales of movie merchandise, their attorney said Wednesday. The New Zealand actors were supposed to split 5% of the revenue after expenses from sales of caps, video games, mugs and other merchandise but New Line breached the contract by taking distribution and "gross participation" fees to which it wasn't entitled, according to the lawsuit filed May 30 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The fees weren't in the contract and they ate up all of the profits owed to the actors, said their attorney, Henry Gradstein of Los Angeles.

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