Witcher author sues CDPR

[Achtung Englander]

I don't see how he really has a leg to stand on. If he sold the rights for an agreed level of royalties then he can't just retroactively decide that he deserves more just because the person who now legally owns the rights has made a huge success of the franchise. In fact, it would be insane if any court ruled in his favour for something like that as it totally undermines copyright law.

He just sounds bitter to me.

yep - agree totally. He is a bitter old man who realised he fucked up. If he just read any business book the advice is always negotiate for royalties especially when it comes to art. Just take a leaf out of Alec Guinness book. He thought Star Wars was a complete joke. Didn't stop him from taking 2.25 % of all profits from a New Hope, netting him $50M for work he had already done. Clever man.

Script writers in Hollywood do not get the privileged to do because the Studio holds all the cards, besides if the script writer is employed by the Studio, he is just that , an employee (or contractor)

[Achtung Englander]

Has Christopher Tolkien not also been a little bitchy in the past toward New Line Cinema in regards to his father's works?

It seems no one is happy with the films. Didn't New Line lose money or something like that ?

[Stormbringer]

No I think it was resolved amicably in the end, in terms of finances, but Christopher moaned about the films, saying:

[my father] has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed by the absurdity of our time. The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has gone too far for me. Such commercialisation has reduced the esthetic and philosophical impact of this creation to nothing. There is only one solution for me: turning my head away.

I guess he's more sad to see his father's legacy reduced to popular entertainment, rather than "Damn, I should have sold this for more!" as in the Polish chap's case.

[Mantis]

Is that in reference to the Lord of the Rings movies or The Hobbit trilogy?

[Stormbringer]

Both. He says they "eviscerated" the books.

To be fair, he's right. But they're still enjoyable. ¬_¬

[Mantis]

I'd say the first Hobbit movie was fairly enjoyable to a certain extent, but there's no doubt that the rest of those movies were a calamity. The Lord of the Rings adaptations were quite admirably done if you ask me, not a perfect translation but as close as you could probably get for the big screen.

[Stormbringer]

I am in total agreement with the above post, though I think Christopher is referring to something deeper, more philosophical and spiritual, that can only be adequately captured in the writing and cannot be translated into the popular action/adventure film format.

Also, I think I'm doing pretty well today in hijacking threads to talk about Tolkien. ¬_¬

[Mantis]

If that is indeed what he meant then I doubt he would ever be happy with any kind of production that had a decent budget with a big studio backing it.

Much like how Andrezej Sapkowski is never going to be happy with the fact that he didn't have the foresight to sign up for royalty payments on The Witcher game series.

Boom. See that segue back on topic? Seamless.

[Jez]

How is segue pronounced please?

[Sly Boots]

How is segue pronounced please?

Like the motorised scooter, Segway

[Sly Boots]

If that is indeed what he meant then I doubt he would ever be happy with any kind of production that had a decent budget with a big studio backing it.

Much like how Andrezej Sapkowski is never going to be happy with the fact that he didn't have the foresight to sign up for royalty payments on The Witcher game series.

Boom. See that segue back on topic? Seamless.

Maybe it's just authors being precious about their creations. Stephen King hated the Stanley Kubrick version of The Shining, while Roald Dahl hated the Gene Wilder Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but both are great films.

[Lee]

The twat has no leg to stand on. HE admits he fucked up in the agreement when CDRED were wanting to give him more and a cut of the profits. You can't then down the line go er no I want more and I demand it after agreeing to a previous price because you're thick. Have you read the things he has said about his fans and whenever someone mentions they got his books from liking the games. I'd be thanking my lucky stars myself that I am getting a lot more coverage/sales/recognition from it, after being a dumb ass in the first place.

It was good to see CDRED come straight out about it all and I hope they shut the little eegit up good and proper.

[The Jackal]

How is segue pronounced please?

syooj

Honest.

[Jez]

Yes that's the one!

[Stormbringer]

...but both are great films.

Well... not really.