Judge rules that Elijah Schkeiban's screenplay for Bats and Butterflies was 'not substantially similar' to sci-fi blockbuster
Had Elijah Schkeiban succeeded in his copyright case against James Cameron over the blockbuster film Avatar, he might just have been in line for a large payout. However, a Us judge yesterday dashed the novelist and screenwriter's hopes of securing a share of the film's $2.7bn (£1.7bn) box-office gross by throwing out the case. Cameron's lawyers had successfully argued that it is not possible to copyright such elements as a "weak hero" and a plot twist in which "the bad guys attack the good guys", reports The Wrap blog.
In his judgment, Us district court Judge Manuel Real said Schkeiban's screenplay for a film titled Bats and Butterflies, based on his own series of children's books, was "not substantially similar" to Avatar. The screenwriter had complained that Cameron borrowed multiple plot elements from his script,...
Had Elijah Schkeiban succeeded in his copyright case against James Cameron over the blockbuster film Avatar, he might just have been in line for a large payout. However, a Us judge yesterday dashed the novelist and screenwriter's hopes of securing a share of the film's $2.7bn (£1.7bn) box-office gross by throwing out the case. Cameron's lawyers had successfully argued that it is not possible to copyright such elements as a "weak hero" and a plot twist in which "the bad guys attack the good guys", reports The Wrap blog.
In his judgment, Us district court Judge Manuel Real said Schkeiban's screenplay for a film titled Bats and Butterflies, based on his own series of children's books, was "not substantially similar" to Avatar. The screenwriter had complained that Cameron borrowed multiple plot elements from his script,...
- 9/18/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
A federal judge on Monday threw out a case against filmmaker James Cameron and 20th Century Fox accusing them of ripping off a screenwriter's unmade film and novel to create the 3D blockbuster "Avatar." U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real said the "Bats and Butterflies" screenplay and the film were "not substantially similar" to "Avatar," according to court documents obtained by TheWrap. "'Bats and Butterflies' is a straightforward children's story that lacks the depth and complexity of the moods expressed in 'Avatar,'" Real wrote in the decision. Elijah Schkeiban, the plaintiff, alleged that...
- 9/18/2012
- by Alexander C. Kaufman
- The Wrap
Avatar director James Cameron has been hit with a new copyright lawsuit.
Elijah Schkeiban claims he created a fantasy franchise, called Bats & Butterflies, in 1988 - and it closely resembles Cameron's 2010 blockbuster.
Schkebian's story chronicled a hero's travels to a faraway planet, called Altair. In the project, the lead character finds himself lost in a forest and befriends a number of indigenous creatures and partners with a community of butterflies.
On Monday Schkeiban filed suit against Cameron in California, alleging the movie star lifted plot ideas and characters from his book, insisting the similarities between the works simply couldn't be coincidental, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
This marks the latest legal hurdle for Cameron, who has been plagued by a slew of similar allegations since the movie's premiere in 2009 - in December he was hit with a $2.5 billion copyright lawsuit by a sci-fi screenwriter and earlier that month another plaintiff filed copyright infringement papers against Cameron, claiming he approached bosses at the director's production company Lightstorm Entertainment with an idea for an "environmentally themed 3D epic" back in 1999.
Avatar has raked in $2.78 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing film of all time.
Elijah Schkeiban claims he created a fantasy franchise, called Bats & Butterflies, in 1988 - and it closely resembles Cameron's 2010 blockbuster.
Schkebian's story chronicled a hero's travels to a faraway planet, called Altair. In the project, the lead character finds himself lost in a forest and befriends a number of indigenous creatures and partners with a community of butterflies.
On Monday Schkeiban filed suit against Cameron in California, alleging the movie star lifted plot ideas and characters from his book, insisting the similarities between the works simply couldn't be coincidental, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
This marks the latest legal hurdle for Cameron, who has been plagued by a slew of similar allegations since the movie's premiere in 2009 - in December he was hit with a $2.5 billion copyright lawsuit by a sci-fi screenwriter and earlier that month another plaintiff filed copyright infringement papers against Cameron, claiming he approached bosses at the director's production company Lightstorm Entertainment with an idea for an "environmentally themed 3D epic" back in 1999.
Avatar has raked in $2.78 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing film of all time.
- 1/26/2012
- WENN
When James Cameron created a world full of blue-skinned human hybrids and a Tree of Souls, it likely came as quite a surprise that so many other people had been there as well.
In the sixth lawsuit against the blockbuster movie, writer Elijah Schkeiban claims that Cameron's "Avatar" blatantly ripped off his seminal work, "Bats & Butterflies." In the suit, Schkeiban claims that Cameron stole elements of the paperback, including an injured protagonist, an indigenous non-human species living on a far away planet, and a war between two groups (no, seriously).
Schkeiban alleges that some dialogue was stolen as well, although with Cameron dropping phrases like, "When people are sittin' on s**t that you want, you make 'em your enemy," all over "Avatar," we're more than a little worried about the mental state of anyone who might lay claim to them.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the suit filed yesterday...
In the sixth lawsuit against the blockbuster movie, writer Elijah Schkeiban claims that Cameron's "Avatar" blatantly ripped off his seminal work, "Bats & Butterflies." In the suit, Schkeiban claims that Cameron stole elements of the paperback, including an injured protagonist, an indigenous non-human species living on a far away planet, and a war between two groups (no, seriously).
Schkeiban alleges that some dialogue was stolen as well, although with Cameron dropping phrases like, "When people are sittin' on s**t that you want, you make 'em your enemy," all over "Avatar," we're more than a little worried about the mental state of anyone who might lay claim to them.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the suit filed yesterday...
- 1/26/2012
- by Sarah Crow
- NextMovie
The ranks of those suing James Cameron for stealing the idea for Avatar is swelling to Comic-Con proportions as yet another individual has brought forth claims for being the true genius behind the mega-blockbuster film. Last month, we covered three plaintiffs who had recently filed a lawsuit against Cameron's Lightstom Entertainment. Meet the fourth fifth sixth latest individual who thinks he can beat the odds and not end up being ordered by a judge to pay Cameron's legal bill. Elijah Schkeiban says he's the creator and author of "Bats & Butterflies," a franchise of products first created in 1988, based
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- 1/25/2012
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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