LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST FILM TRILOGY 'LORD OF THE RINGS'

Lord Of The Rings made millions

Actors from 'The Lord of the Rings' are suing the studio behind the blockbuster trilogy claiming they have been cheated out of at least $5 million in royalties.The group of 15 performers, who played small but crucial roles in the fantasy series, say they signed contracts promising them five per cent from the sales of any merchandise bearing their characters' likeness. However, they claim New Line, a company owned by Time Warner, has not paid up.Beverly Hills lawyer Henry Gradstein filed a claim in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Hollywood studio on behalf of the actors, who live in New Zealand where the three movies were filmed.Gradstein told the New York Post newspaper: "This money makes a difference to these 15 actors. What New Line did was just arbitrarily take 50 per cent right off the top because 'We're the company.' " The actors say they were not informed when they signed their contracts that New Line was to deduct a 50 per cent distribution fee from the sales of the merchandise, which includes lunchboxes, T-shirts, baseball caps and video games. The complaint comes two years after director Peter Jackson filed his own lawsuit against New Line, claiming the studio cheated him out of up to $100 million. New Line rebuked Jackson's complaint by banning him from ever working with their studio again. The company has not commented on the latest lawsuit.