Chinese writer plans to sue James Cameron over "Avatar"

Avatar director James Cameron is facing a possible £97m lawsuit from a Beijing author who claims the script of the blockbuster sci-fi epic was lifted from his novel.

Zhou Shaomou told the China Daily he spent seven years writing the 1.2 million word book.

"Eighty percent of the plot and the key elements of Avatar are similar to my 1997 science fiction novel Tale Of The Blue Crows," said Zhou.

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," he says.

"I was shocked when I first saw that. It is too close."

Zhou thought there was no market for his novel and signed a contract to have it published online.

He says the £97m he is seeking is for breach of copyright.

"I realise that no one knows me in China but I insist on fighting for my copyright," he told Sky News.

"Over ten million people have read my book over the internet."

And Zhou's legal battles are only just beginning. Two Chinese courts have refused to allow him to submit his lawsuit.

"Nobody was supportive and many asked why someone as famous as Cameron would copy an obscure work from a little-known author," said Zhou.

"I really wanted to argue back 'why not?'.

Yang Huipeng, a Beijing lawyer, said Zhou would have better luck filing his lawsuit abroad.

"He has two options but it is better to sue in America because if the lawsuit is handled in China and James Cameron or his representatives do not come to court then the judgement is unlikely to have much effect," Yang told the China Daily.

This is not the first time the Canadian-born director has faced allegations of plagiarism.

He was previously accused by sci-fi writer Harland Ellison over the film Terminator.

Cameron negotiated and settled out of court.


/Sky News/