Stephen Ure has the benefit (and curse) of being part of the of the Tolkien “Lord of the Rings/Hobbit” franchise.   

The benefit is getting to play some memorable roles with great make-up and costumes like Gorbag and Grishnakh.  The downside is getting screwed over merchandise royalties. 

Sometimes it’s the behind-the-scenes goss that make for the best part of a celeb story.  In Stephen’s case, I’m glad that he (and some others – even Peter Jackson) had to sue to reclaim unpaid royalties and fees.  It took a while for him to get paid for the merchandising of his characters in an “undisclosed settlement”.   

Nevertheless, one of the settlors (Bruce Hopkins who played Gamling) summed up the settlement funnily: “A couple of actors may be able to have a decent holiday this year while most will simply be able to buy some new board shorts, a couple of bottles of nice wine and maybe get a haircut in anticipation of their next role in a record-breaking global blockbuster”. 

THE FUCKERY IS ALWAYS IN THE DETAILS!!  (Especially when it comes to entertainment “gross vs. net” accounting.)