So you think James Cameron is the whiz behind all great movies? Maybe not in Avatar. Cameron allegedly stole the story of Avatar from a sci-fi nerd who once worked in Cameron's production company.
The nerd's name is Eric Ryder, who claimed that back in 1997 he came up with "a movie called 'KRZ 2068', an environmentally themend 3D epic about a corporation's colonization and plundering of a distant moon's lush and wondrous natural setting."
In his suit filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Ryder claimed that his reps pitched the movie idea to Cameron's production company and received a very positive response. As positive as getting it into the multiple serious meetings with big honchos about the project's development.
However in 2002, the company shut down the project, telling Ryder that no one would see an 'environmentally-themed feature length science fiction movie'.
Well surprise, surprise. Avatar was a huge success in 2009 and Ryder filed a lawsuit, claiming that many similarities were found in Avatar and his story, including his idea of the characters to be played by Sigourney Weaver.
James Cameron's people claimed that the suit is "baseless and we will vigorously defend our position".
Ryder's demand for Cameron is undisclosed, but I can imagine he wants millions of dollars.
Now if only the original script is leaked somewhere. Maybe THEN we'll decide who stole what.
