James Franco wants Charles Bukowski lawsuit thrown out

James Franco has asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit over his film about legendary writer Charles Bukowski.

Cyril Humphris claims Franco's biopic, titled Bukowski, is closely based on the author's semi-autobiographical novel Ham on Rye, which Humphris claims he owns the film rights to.

In the suit, filed in April (14), Humphris alleges the film "borrows the novel's themes of childhood loneliness; adolescent self-consciousness; the failures, hypocrisy, and cruelty of adults; and, in an unflinching depiction, the crude interest teenage boys take in sex".

He also claims several scenes in the movie are taken directly from the book.

However, Franco is adamant his biopic is not based on Ham on Rye but was instead inspired by the author's writings in general, and in new legal documents he is asking a judge to throw out the case, according to TMZ.com.

Humphris is suing for damages and an injunction to block the film's production.