Science fiction legend and 77 year old author, Harlan Ellison is attempting to kill a high-profile movie that is scheduled for release next month. The Hugo award-winning writer has filed a lawsuit against New Regency and director Andrew Niccol over the 20th Century Fox-distributed film, In Time, starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy. He is demanding an injunction to prevent the film's October 28 release and the disposal of all copies of the film.

Ellison filed his lawsuit last Wednesday in California federal court with allegations of copyright infringement on the part of the producers of In Time, including Niccol, who is renowned for his sci-fi films including The Truman Show, Gattaca, and S1mOne.

Copyright lawsuits in Hollywood are certainly plentiful, but rarely successful because plaintiffs typically struggle to meet the high burden of showing substantial similarity. Will Ellison's case be any different?

Ellison says the new film is based on his multiple prize-winning 1965 work, "Repent, Harlequin! Said The Ticktockman" which the complaint calls one of the most famous and widely published science fiction short stories of all time and that the film "copies key plot elements, themes, characters,...