James Cameron is being sued by former employee Eric Ryder in his production company for stealing his idea for ‘Avatar,’ TMZ is reporting. Ryder has filed a lawsuit for an unspecified amount, saying that in 1997, he came up with an idea for a movie titled ‘KRZ 2068.’ He described his film as “an environmentally themed 3D epic about a corporation’s colonization and plundering of a distant moon’s lush and wondrous natural setting.”

Ryder’s lawsuit, which was filed in L.A. County Superior Court, states that his reps pitched the idea for the film to Cameron’s production company in 1999. The idea was so well-received that they set up multiple meetings with high ranking executives at the company for the project’s development.

Ryder also claimed in 2002, the company officially shut down the project. He added that they told him that “No one would go see an environmentally themed feature length science fiction movie.” So when ‘Avator’ hit theaters in 2009, and became the highest-grossing film of all time, Ryder became furious.

Ryder added that Cameron’s reps are lying about not taking his idea, as there are too many similarities between the two projects. One aspect is that Ryder wanted one of the characters to be played by Sigourney Weaver. Cameron’s reps have not publicly commented on the case.

Written by: Karen Benardello