i also believe that money may be a factor christopher tolkien obviously in hindsight sees the sale of these rights by his late father as regrettable, as well as lack of control over following the books to the letter.
this would also include the selling of j.r.r.'s manuscripts to marquette university and oxford which are valued in the millions possibly priceless, that tolkien sold for tax purposes and christopher had on loan or as zerox copied to write the history of middle earth series, the silmarillion, unfinished tales and the children of hurin, he may see the sale of them regrettable but they have been wonderfully preserved for generations by these university libraries. materials mostly unseen and unread by the general public as for the tolkien estates imposed recrictions on viewing, note talking or even photocopies or microfilm. it was because of the tolkien estate and christopher tolkien and manches and co lawfirm that the beowulf manuscript translations in verse and prose with notes by micheal drout remain unpublished, as well as keeping a lot of tolkiens poems and philological work out of print with no intention to reprint or make available in electronic form or as order on demand book reprints therefore driving used book prices into absurd figures for university texts and such.
there is also a feud between christopher tolkien and his first born son from his previous marriage simon tolkien, over the films. simon sees the work of peter jackson as wonderful and an added aspect of his grandfathers legacy.
christophers second son adam tolkien simon's half brother, they have diffrent mothers obviously, follows his father in thinking the work of jackson a butcher job.
tolkien was a christian and therefore i think a guy directing the hobbit films like the director of pans labyrinthe which made via allegory communism and socialism good is the wrong man for the job. maybe he should have directed the phillip pullman atheist series that seems more his speed.
peter jackson and co all but took out the christian values and synthesis that was lord of the rings in the adaptation to the screen, this to me as a christian and a fan of tolkien and lewis as christian writers amongst the inklings, a grevious mistake.
this was as stupid as the hoolywoodoodling of a classic english epic poem like beowulf another work that is a pagan and christian synthesis and tolkien was its best teacher and reader. that dumbass director who did the back to the future movies is a joke for thinking he could write better, and hiring a new age spiritualist and alleged atheist like the comics writer neil gaiman and removing the christian element absoulute stupidity to the nth degree.
grendel's mother in beowulf was supposed to be a hideous troll orgress off the moors who ripps people literally limb from limb not some whore in the form of angelina jolie.