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<H1>Writer: 'Kingdom' plagiarized my book</H1>
<H3></H3>
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Friday, April 29, 2005 Posted: 9:41 AM EDT (1341 GMT)
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<DIV style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px" align=right><!--===========IMAGE============--><IMG height=168 alt=Kingdom
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<DIV class=cnnStoryCaption
align=left><!--===========CAPTION==========-->Orlando Bloom and Liam
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<P><B style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">NEW YORK (AP) -- A week before the
much-anticipated film "Kingdom of Heaven" opens in theaters, the Crusades-era
epic starring Orlando Bloom has sparked another battle.</B></P>
<P>Acclaimed author and scholar James Reston Jr. claims the film swiped the
story line from his 2001 book, "Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and
Saladin in the Third Crusade."</P>
<P>"The essence of it is that this is a film that is derived from the first 100
pages of my book," Reston told The Associated Press.</P>
<P>Reston would not say whether he planned to sue. "I think that's in the hands
of the attorneys," he said.</P>
<P>A spokesman for the studio, 20th Century Fox, said Reston's claims were
"baseless and without merit."</P>
<P>Reston, son of former New York Times executive editor James "Scotty" Reston,
said producer Mike Medavoy optioned the rights to his book in November 2001 and
weeks later sent a letter to Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott.</P>
<P>The December 12, 2001, letter mentions Reston's book by name and asks Scott
to consider a movie based on the characters. "Think 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'A
Man For All Seasons,"' Medavoy writes in the letter, which Reston provided to
the AP.</P>
<P>Scott declined Medavoy's pitch, but went on to make "Kingdom of Heaven."</P>
<P>Reston argues that Scott and his screenwriter scuttled their previous
historical epic "and miraculously the screenwriter came up with this concept
based on 'Warriors of God' in a two-week timeframe."</P>
<P>"They claim they never read the book and that's laughable," Reston said.</P>
<P>Medavoy, who is not involved in the dispute, said Tuesday he has not read the
movie script.</P>
<P>"James feels that this violates his book, which at one time we optioned,"
Medavoy told the AP, adding that he no longer has rights to the book.</P>
<P>"I'm just going to sit back and watch this transpire," he said.</P>
<P>The film, which also features Liam Neeson, opens May
6.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>