A Chinese writer named Zhou Shaomou claims that the blockbuster movie was based on his 1997 sci fi novel, Tale Of The Blue Crows.
Zhou revealed that he is seeking £97million for breach of copywright.
"80% of the plot and key elements of Avatar are similar to Tale Of The Blue Crows," the writer told the China Daily. "It tells the story of an epic journey taken by six astronauts to a distant planet which is home to a race of blue-skinned beings.
"I wrote in my novel that their space journey took them six years but in Cameron's movie the journey takes them five years, nine months and 22 days. I was shocked when I first saw that. It is too close."
Zhou, who signed a contract to have his novel published online, also told Sky News that he has struggled to file a lawsuit in China.
"I realise that no-one knows me in China but I insist on fighting for my copyright," he said. "Over ten million people have read my book over the internet.
"Nobody was supportive and many asked why someone as famous as Cameron would copy an obscure work from a little-known author. I really wanted to argue back, 'Why not?'"
James Cameron faced allegations of plagiarism previously, when he was accused by sci-fi writer Harland Ellison over the film Terminator. The director negotiated and settled out of court.
0 comments:
Post a Comment