The Saul Zaentz Company was formed by Saul Zaentz and was the parent company of Middle-earth Enterprises untill ME was bought by Embracer Group in 2022[1], responsible for selling Peter Jackson the rights to produce The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The company formed Middle-earth Enterprises just shortly after J.R.R. Tolkien sold to it the worldwide motion picture rights (along with other rights) in 1976.