Author and journalist James Braddock has sued Angelina Jolie, along with the producers and distributor of Jolie's directorial debut film In the Land of Blood and Honey, for copyright infringement of his book The Soul Shattering. The complaint alleges that both works involve a love story between an imprisoned woman and her captor, set in war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s. Braddock claims that co-defendant and film producer Edin Sarkic approached Braddock in late 2007 and the two discussed the possibility of making a motion picture based on his book over the course of the next two years. Braddock seeks statutory damages as well as an injunction against any use of the film, which is due to be released on December 23, 2011.
Author Claims Creation of Avatar Ideas: Eric Ryder has sued James Cameron and his production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, alleging numerous similarities between Cameron's global blockbuster Avatar and a story developed by Ryder called K.R.Z. 2068. According to the complaint, Ryder created K.R.Z. 2068 and wrote a treatment in 1997 and 1998, which was sent to Lightstorm Entertainment in 1999. Lightstorm expressed interest in making the film, and Ryder continued to submit story drafts, materials and ultimately a screenplay to the company. In 2002, however, Lightstorm informed Ryder that there was no market for a film based on his idea. Ryder has now sued Cameron and Lightstorm on several theories: that Lightstorm breached an implied contract with Ryder by disclosing elements of K.R.Z. 2068 to Cameron, who claims sole authorship of Avatar; that Lightstorm induced Ryder to disclose his ideas for K.R.Z. 2068 in order to prevent him from developing a motion picture that would compete with Avatar; and that Lightstorm induced Ryder into entering an implied contact in order to obtain ideas to use in Avatar.
Lawsuit Against Beyoncé Will Proceed: Last week, a New York state court rejected Beyoncé's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Gate Five based on the pop star's purported breach of her contract to collaborate on a motion-based video game, Starpower: Beyoncé. Gate Five had filed a lawsuit against Beyoncé and her production company in April 2011, alleging that Beyoncé pulled out of her agreement with the company at the eleventh hour causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Beyoncé moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that she was contractually permitted to terminate the agreement. The court denied the motion during oral argument, a transcript of which is not publicly available at this time.
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