Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Gravity’ Lawsuit: Writer Tess Gerritsen Demands Royalties Claiming Movie Was Based On Her Book

The movie “Gravity” has been highly recognized this award season, sweeping awards for cinematography, special effects, director and more, proving once more that Latinos in Hollywood don’t necessarily have to be attached to the stereotypes and can produce quality material. Unfortunately for this Alfonso Cuarón directed film, there’s a scandal currently staining the long and impressive run this movie has had.

Novelist Tess Gerritsen is suing Warner Bros with the allegation that “Gravity” is derived from her 1999 book by the same name. The complaint was filed in California federal court on Tuesday and it does not claim copyright infringement, but breach of contract. Gerritsen claims she sold her novel to Katja Motion Picture Corp., a shell company for New Line. In 2008, Warner Bros bought New Line, which made them the owners of the feature deal.

In the contract she had worked with Katja, she would get a production bonus of $500,000, 2.5 percent of the “defined net proceeds” from the movie, and screen credit. Gerritsen had already been paid $1 million a few months before her book was published in 1999. The suit seeks damages of at least $10 million, which would include a percentage of net proceeds.

Gerritsen had already stated in an interview back in October that the movie is a “great film, but it’s not based on my book,” however, her spokeswoman said in a statement that in February the author “received startling new information from a reliable source. She was told that at least one individual who was key to the development of the film ‘Gravity’ had also been connected to her project while it was in development, and would have been familiar with her novel.”

“Ms. Gerritsen is now convinced the similarities are not merely coincidental.” Gerritsen's book is described as featuring "a female medical doctor/astronaut who is stranded alone aboard a space station after a series of disasters kill the rest of the crew."