Confusing 'Gravity' Lawsuit Claims Author Is Owed Royalties on Movie Not Based on Her Book

An author of a sci-fi novel called "Gravity" is suing filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning movie of the same name, claiming that she's owed royalties from the blockbuster's profits.



The Associated Press reports that Tess Gerritsen filed suit against Warner Bros. this week, "alleging the studio violated an agreement she had with one of its subsidiaries to turn her novel 'Gravity' into a movie. Gerritsen, whose books include a series that is basis for the TNT show 'Rizzoli & Isles,' sold the film rights to the 'Gravity' novel for $1 million in 1999."



According to the AP, Gerritsen's book shares some similarities with director Alfonso Cuaron's film, which starred Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, though the two are hardly carbon copies. Like the movie, Gerritsen's "Gravity" focused on a female medical doctor who gets stranded in space, but the novel also contains a medical outbreak that kill's the protagonist's fellow astronauts, and features the woman's husband, who fights for her return to Earth. Neither scenario was part of the 2013 film.



"The lawsuit is not alleging any copyright infringement -- a claim that would prompt a judge to compare the story lines -- but rather alleges Warner Bros. has breached Gerritsen's contract for the film rights and profits," the AP writes.



Warner Bros. has yet to comment on the suit. However, a spokesperson for the studio pointed to Gerritsen's own remarks about the movie, which she made at an appearance at an Indiana public library last October, as proving that she has no basis for a case.



"Yea, 'Gravity' is a great film, but it's not based on my book," Gerritsen told the audience, according to a local newspaper.





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