Now that Avatar has earned a billion dollars, people are coming out of the woodwork to sue James Cameron claiming his film too closely resembles their works of fiction.  For example, Zhou Shaomou tells China Daily that 80% of the plot and key elements of Avatar were ripped straight from his 1997 Sci-Fi novel Tale of the Blue Crows.

According to him, 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.  The Chinese author said that he wrote in his 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 claimed that he was shocked when he first saw that noting that it is too close.  He explained that he realize that no one knows him in China but he insist on fighting for his copyright adding that over ten million people have read his book over the internet.  He said that nobody was supportive and many asked why someone famous as Cameron would copy an obscure work from a little-known author.  He said that he really wanted to argue back.  He planned to sue Cameron for $162 million in copyright infringement.  Zhou has reportedly tried twice to get his case heard in China but was denied both times.

Now, James Cameron is an idea-stealing thief who ripped the story for “Avatar” from a science fiction nerd who once worked with Cameron’s production company, this according to a new lawsuit.  Cameron is being sued again but this time by a guy named Eric Ryder who claims back in 1997, he came up with a movie called “KRZ 2068” – an environmentally themed 3D epic about a corporation’s colonization and plundering of a distant moon’s lush and wondrous natural setting.  Ryder claims the movie also involves self-contained robotic exterior suits which house a single human operator just like in Avatar.

According to the suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Ryder claims his reps pitched the movie idea to Cameron’s production company back in 1999 and it was so well received, they had multiple serious meetings with high ranking execs about the development of the project.   However, Ryder claims in 2002 that the company officially shut down the project telling him that no one would go see an environmentally themed feature science fiction movie.  So when Avatar hit theaters in 2009 and made bazillions Ryder was furious.  In his suit, Ryder alleges he complained to Cameron’s people in 2009 but when they got back to him earlier this year, they told him to kick rocks claiming J.C. had written the story before 1999.  Ryder said Cameron’s people are lying, claiming there are way too many similarities between the two projects including Ryder’s idea for one of the characters to be played by Sigourney Weaver.  Ryder is suing for unspecified damages probably a bloody fortune.  There were no statements yet given by Cameron’s representative regarding the new lawsuit.