Is there anyone on the planet that James Cameron didn't rip off the idea for Avatar from? The answer is no, no there is not. The multi-billion-dollar science fiction epic has been hit by lawsuits several times over the past few years, most recently by a former Lightstorm employee who claims Cameron stole ideas from his short story. Now Cameron and 20th Century Fox have been hit by yet another lawsuit claiming plagiarism -- this one seeking damages of $2.5 billion dollars. Yes, that's billion with a b.

So, who is this latest contestant on Win James Cameron's Money? According to TMZ, the suit was filed by a chap named Bryant Moore. He's apparently the writer of a pair of screenplays he claims were pilfered by Cameron to make Avatar: Aquatica and one called Descendants: The Pollination (which sounds like it should be airing on Syfy some Saturday night). TMZ's story doesn't mention if the suit explains how or when Cameron is purported to have seen these scripts prior to recognizing their brilliance and seizing it as his own. Granted, Cameron is one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, so I'm sure he can get access to pretty much any script he wants to. But can and did are two very different things, separated by a wide gulf known as "proof."

Here are some of the "similarities" cited by the suit:

... bioluminescent flora/plant life, unbreathable atmospheres, matriarch support of hero vs. heroine, spiritual connections to environment and reincarnation, appearance of mist in scene, sunlight to moonlight, crackling from gargantuan foliage, blue skin/green skin and battle scene on limbs/branches.

Wow, those are...incredibly general. Pretty much every one of those has either been widely used in speculative fiction of varying sorts, is scientifically likely to be encountered on an alien world, or arises naturally from setting your story on a jungle planet. Maybe this guy will claim he came up with Endor, too...