In the suit filed in New York
late last month, Dean accuses Cameron of "willful and deliberate
copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his original artwork in Avatar,
which just happens to be the highest-grossing film of all time. Our
inquiry to 20th Century Fox for comment on the suit wasn't immediately
returned.
In the complaint, filed under the
artist's full name, William Roger Dean, he's seeking more than $50
million in damages. Aside from his famed album covers,
Dean's fantasy landscapes have been exhibited around the world and he
also drew up a film proposal based on his artwork that he shopped at the
2005 Cannes Film Festival, according to Deadline.com.
another Roger Dean album coverThe suit says that Avatar's
land of Pandora features "floating mountains" and "stone arches" that
are copied from his paintings of the same names, and the "Hometree" from
the film is copied from his "Pathways" and "Floating Jungle" paintings.
"The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and
direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity to the Plaintiff's Works that Defendants and others employed in preparation of the film must have had access to the Plaintiffs Works," says one part of the 17-page complaint.
Dean wants more than just money.
He's also seeking an injunction and wants full accounting and a court
order to be posted online noting that the defendants stole his work.
He's also after a piece of future Avatar projects, including two sequels and a possible prequel and an Avatar-themed
attraction at Walt Disney World. The suits says those future projects
"are very likely to utilize many of the original images of the Plaintiff
which would further continue Defendants breach of contractual
obligations owed to Plaintiff."
