A Los Angeles writer who helps aspiring screenwriters learn their craft has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Home Box Office and the creator of HBO's offbeat fantasy-mystery series "Carnivale." Jeff Bergquist claims that the series contains "remarkable and substantial similarities" to a novel that he had been working on since the 1980s.

Bergquist, artistic director at the New Playwrights Foundation, contends that he submitted several screenplays and a rough draft of his novel "Beulah" -- a quirky drama set amid a traveling carnival during the Depression -- to workshops at the American Film Institute and the New Playwrights Foundation in the mid- to late 1980s.

The suit, filed June 9 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, alleges that Daniel Knauf, the creator and executive producer of "Carnivale," had been a member of both groups at the time and read Bergquist's rough draft of the novel.

Asked to comment on the suit, an HBO spokesperson said: "'Carnivale' was created by Daniel Knauf, and any suggestion to the contrary has absolutely no merit."

Knauf also described the suit as "groundless": "I created 'Carnivale,' and I created it by myself."

According to the suit, Bergquist wrote a series of screenplays in the 1970s that dealt with life in a traveling carnival and by the next decade had begun work on "Beulah."

Bergquist continued revising the novel over the years and registered "Beulah" with the U.S. Copyright Office in 2002.

In spring 2003, the suit noted, HBO began advertising a new television series about a traveling carnival titled "Carnivale." Bergquist began receiving calls from friends who had read "Beulah," congratulating and assuming -- incorrectly, it turned out -- that his novel was being turned into a television series.

The suit lists a number of alleged similarities between "Beulah" and "Carnivale" involving stories, settings and characters. For instance, the main characters in both the novel and TV series are Depression-era, Midwestern farm boys growing up without fathers. In the novel, the boy is raised by a fanatically religious aunt, while in the TV series the boy is raised by his fanatically religious mother.

In another example, the suit describes a character in the novel named Brother Ezra, an up-and-coming radio preacher with a large tattoo on his chest of dead foliage. He dreams of building a large temple in Beulah City to attract more congregants. In the HBO series, the suit states, the character Brother Justin -- a radio preacher with a large tattoo on his chest of a dead tree -- dreams of building a large temple in Mintern, Calif., to attract more congregants.

Likewise, the suit noted, the novel includes a dwarf named Doc Catchem, a "smooth-talking, articulate, fancy dresser," while the TV series featured a dwarf named Samson who is a smooth-talking, articulate, fancy dresser.

There is also a character in the book called "The Lady," the mysterious carnival manager who lives in a trailer and permits almost no one to see her. In "Carnivale," a character called "Management" lives in a trailer and will allow only a few people in. Both characters have magical powers and are able to send messages and visions telepathically to the farm boy protagonist.

In his suit, Bergquist seeks monetary damages as well as an injunction preventing HBO and the producer from distributing or exhibiting "Carnivale" or any additional projects based on "Beulah" without Bergquist's consent.

In May, HBO decided not to renew "Carnivale" for a third season.

(Robert W. Welkos, Los Angeles Times)

Singing celebs on NBC

Keanu Reeves has his Dogstar. Russell Crowe used to have his 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. The list of actors who dabble in music is not a short one.

Now, on the heels of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" and its own "Hit Me Baby One More Time," NBC is hoping that some of those folks will want to do their dabbling in front of a camera.

The network has ordered a show with the unwieldy but explanatory title of "I'm a Celebrity But I Want to Be a Pop Star." The series, which at the moment has no premiere date, host or set format, will feature celebs from the worlds of movies, television and sports taking part in a singing contest, with winners determined by an audience vote.

(Zap2it.com)