Tolkien estate sues New Line Films for Bupkis

Thomas S. Mulligan writes:

The London-based Tolkien Trust said in its complaint, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, that under a 1969 contract with the studio that held the original rights to the work, the trust and other plaintiffs were entitled to 7.5% of gross receipts, "less certain expenses," from the films and related products. According to the suit, worldwide grosses from the trilogy have reached nearly $6 billion.

Bupkis is well known as the meaning of a "net percentage" in the movie business. Homonyms include zero, zilch, nil, none, and nix. It's kind of amazing that bupkis is now the meaning of "gross percentage" in the movie business. On the other hand, "less certain expenses" could be enough to turn gross into net.


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