On December 18, 2007, it was announced that Jackson would be executive producer of The Hobbit and its sequel. Back-to-back shooting on these films was to begin in 2009, and each film would be released in December 2010 and December 2011 respectively. NL and MGM will co-finance the film, and the latter studio will distribute the films outside North America — NL’s first ever such deal with another major studio. Shooting will again take place in New Zealand, and Weta Workshop and Weta Digital are expected to offer their services once more. Each film will cost US$150 million. The Tolkien Estate filed a lawsuit against New Line on February 11, 2008, for violating Tolkien’s original deal with Saul Zaentz that that they would earn 7.5% of the gross from a film adaptation. The Estate is seeking compensation of $150 million, because they were only paid $62,500 before production of the trilogy began. A court order was also filed that would allow the Tolkien Trust to terminate any rights to future films. Later that month, Time Warner announced it would fold NL into Warner Bros. The films are now delayed by a year, but the NL-MGM distribution agreement remains in place.