Fifteen actors who appeared in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy are suing film studio New Line.

The Kiwi actors claim New Line broke a contract to give them five per cent of an estimated £50 million profits from the sales of merchandise.

When filing the case in Los Angeles the actors' lawyer, Henry Gradstein, said the studio wrongly took "gross participation" fees. It is claimed that "Hollywood accounting" has led to the discrepancy.

A New Line spokesman said the company did not comment on pending litigation.

The successful film franchise has been involved in legal action before.

In 2005, director Peter Jackson's production company sued the films' distributor, claiming it had withheld profits, including revenue from DVD sales of the first instalment, The Fellowship of The Ring.

Source: Press Release