Did James Cameron Rip Off Roger Dean with Avatar?

[gene]

When I saw Avatar during its premier, I immediately felt like I was transported into a 3D Yes album cover. Fellow Yes fans know Roger Dean is the talent behind their beautiful album covers.

Last week I was having this very discussion with a progressive rock friend of my brother who not only felt the same way but also informed me of a big debate on the internet about it. There have been several sources that claimed James Cameron admitted much of the landscape from Avatar was in fact inspired by Yes album art.

This ponders the question, shouldn't Roger Dean be getting some royalty fees or at least some proper acknowledgments?

Some reference links worth reading:

http://www.yesfans.com/showthread.php?t=57325

http://www.artistsuk.net/artist-news/should-roger-dean-sue-over-avatar-film.html

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Rip off ? I doubt but inspired - possibly

I think the floating islands are very similar to Ghibli's "Howl's Moving Castle"

 

[10010011]

Well he certainly ripped off Pocahontas for the plot line.

 

[Ito]

I think the floating islands are very similar to Ghibli's "Howl's Moving Castle"

Fail much?
That's from Castle in the Sky, not Howl's Moving Castle, lol

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Fail much?
That's from Castle in the Sky, not Howl's Moving Castle, lol

oops , that's that i meant to say

+1 on Pocahontas summary

 

[chris357]

i've heard people say ferngully as well.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

http://io9.com/5460954/the-complete-list-of-sources-avatars-accused-of-ripping-off

 

[gene]

Seems to be a trend with movies these days. The latest Star Trek was a complete rip off of the last Star Trek Movie Nemesis mixed in with Star Wars and elements of 90210. When hollywood runs out of ideas, they simply respin what worked in the past.

Needless to say, I still found both Avatar and Star Trek entertaining. Avatar was the best 3D movie experience I've ever witnessed!

 

[lsiberian]

You guys just don't get it. All movies and stories are the same lines retold over and over. There is nothing new under the sun. Just be thankful you watched Avatar and not Mamma Mia.

 

[conrack]

This is not a new or recent practice. The first "Aliens" movie was a rip-off of an A.E. van Vogt story "Voyage of the Space Beagle"

"A lawsuit by A.E. van Vogt, claiming plagiarism of his 1939 story "Discord in Scarlet" (which he had also incorporated in the 1950 novel "Voyage of the Space Beagle"), was settled out of court."

 

[gene]

You guys just don't get it. All movies and stories are the same lines retold over and over.

Very true. The same can be said about religion as well. Its human nature I suppose.