THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - SCI-FI WRITER LOSES QUAID MOVIE LAWSUIT

SCI-FI WRITER LOSES QUAID MOVIE LAWSUIT

A Chinese science fiction writer who claimed the rights to hit movie THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW has seen his case thrown out of court. Li Jianmin, 43, accused film studio 20th Century Fox of stealing his ideas for the 2004 movie starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal, insisting at least 308 scenes were substantially similar to the concept and plots of two plays he completed in 2001 and 2002. But Li could not prove his plays were completed in the given time period, nor could he establish that 20th Century Fox had access to his plays. The writer, who is planning to appeal against the decision, had sued the movie studio, director Roland Emmerich and five Chinese companies that imported and distributed the film. He wanted the court to acknowledge copyright infringement and for the defendants to pay all legal costs, but made no claim for damages. Bosses at 20th Century Fox denied infringing Li's copyright.