( The Hollywood Reporter ) The author of a 2006 novel has accused the `` Avengers '' director and `` Cabin '' director Drew Goddard of stealing his idea . With just weeks until his box-office victory lap for `` Avengers : Age of Ultron , '' Joss Whedon is now facing a lawsuit accusing him of stealing the idea for the 2012 meta-horror movie The Cabin in the Woods . Whedon produced and co-wrote the script for Cabin with director Drew Goddard , a writer on Whedon 's `` Buffy the Vampire Slayer '' and a fanboy favorite in his own right , with credits that include Netflix 's `` Daredevil '' ( and reportedly may soon include Sony 's upcoming Spider-Man projects ) . Whedon and Goddard are named as defendants , along with Lionsgate and Whedon 's Mutant Enemy production company , in the complaint filed Monday in California federal court . Joss Whedon Slams 'Jurassic World ' Clip as `` '70s-Era Sexist '' In the complaint , Peter Gallagher ( no , not that Peter Gallagher ) claims Whedon and Goddard took the idea for `` The Cabin in the Woods '' from his 2006 novel `` The Little White Trip : A Night In the Pines . '' He 's suing for copyright infringement and wants $ 10 million in damages . Gallagher is basing his claim on the works ' similar premises : Both feature a group of young people terrorized by monsters while staying at a cabin in what is revealed to be ( spoiler alert ) a horror-film scenario designed by mysterious operators . Read the full complaint . Gallagher also alleges similarities between the characters ' names and personalities -- his book 's blond Julie and shy Dura and the film 's Jules ( Anna Hutchison ) and Dana ( Kristen Connolly ) , and handsome and scatterbrained men in both works -- and certain scenes involving the characters finding strange items in their respective cabins and discovering hidden cameras . 'Age of Ultron ' : Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch Are `` Massively Important , '' Says Joss Whedon ( Video ) In the complaint , Gallagher describes how he self-published the novel and `` began grassroots efforts '' to sell it on the Venice Beach boardwalk and on Santa Monica 's Third Street Promenade . `` [ The defendants ] currently reside and operate out of Santa Monica , California , a short distance from where the Book was sold , '' the lawsuit claims . Gallagher alleges that he `` was contacted by multiple credited entertainment industry producers who expressed interest in the Book , '' but he does n't specify Lionsgate or Mutant Enemy . A Lionsgate spokesman declined to comment . The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to representatives for Whedon and Goddard . ©2015 The Hollywood Reporter . All rights reserved .
An author says `` Avengers '' director Joss Whedon and `` Cabin '' director Drew Goddard stole his idea . Peter Gallagher alleges similarities to his `` began grassroots A Night In the Pines '' from 2006 .