Canadian man sues James Cameron for stealing Avatar
March 15, 2012
James Cameron's Avatar was one of the most expensive movies ever made, with a budget of about $230 million, and a Vancouver man is suing Cameron for $100 million of the profits. According to the Postmedia News, Emil Malak wrote a script in 1997 that he claims he sent to Cameron's production studio.
Malak's story, Terra Incognita, features blue people with the same names as the Avatar characters and a near-exact concept for the Home Tree in the movie, called the Life Tree.
Malak claims Cameron's represetatives showed him a copy of a storyboard for the movie that was written in 1996, but further investigations show the file was actually created in 2009 and backdated. The news source indicates Malak will drop his claim if he is given the original copy and allowed to test it.
Unless this is produced, the Canadian writer will pursue his lawsuit for royalties that are a fraction of the profits. The Internet Movie Database states that Avatar grossed about $2.8 billion worldwide.
Those who are following the story can use phone cards to make calls to Canada and discuss it with their friends.