The
makers of Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol are
being sued for $1 billion (£613 million) by a man who claims its script
was based on his copyrighted screenplay.
Timothy Patrick McLanahan claims the 2011 release was "illegally written and produced" from his 1998 script Head On.He filed legal papers against Cruise, Paramount Pictures and several production companies in December 2013.
The documents have since been obtained and published by Radar Online.
In the court papers, McLanahan said he had originally sent his script to the William Morris Agency only to have it turned it down.
"I was told by the agency that they could not use the script as a movie," he writes.
He claims they then "shopped the script around the world" without his permission and passed it on to Creative Artist Agency (CAA), who represent Cruise.
On watching Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the fourth movie to star Cruise as agent Ethan Hunt, McLanahan said he "immediately recognised" the script.
The film took nearly $700 million (£446 million) at the worldwide box office, going on to earn more from DVD and Blu-ray sales.
"Because the Ghost Protocol film generated close to $1 billion [£613 million], I am asking for this amount in damages," said McLanahan in the court papers.
Cruise, Paramount Pictures and the other listed defendants have yet to comment on the legal action.
A fifth Mission: Impossible film is now in the works and is expected to be released in December 2015.
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